CHAPTER FOURAttempts to Destroy and Save Alpamysh:
Phase II

The attack on the content and history of the dastan itself -- "Phase II" --
constitutes a more sophisticated, often subtle, undermining of the dastan
not only as a literary and historical monument but as the repository of
historical identity, tradition and the wisdom of the ancestors. Part
and parcel of this campaign is the attempt to obscure the origins of the
dastan, including complex pseudo-analytical verbiage about "variants" and
"versions," to divert attention from the common origin of the dastan and the
people who share it.

THE SOVIET OFFENSIVE: STUDIES OF ALPAMYSH

The existence of at least 55 printings of Alpamysh -- although these
actually represent only a small number of distinct variants -- invites
comparison. Indeed, there are numerous commentaries on the dastan Alpamysh,
including some comparative discussions. Tura Mirzaev's bibliography1
cites 185 secondary sources on Alpamysh published between 1890 and 1967,
excluding the papers of two major Conferences, one on folklore, held in
Moscow (1954) and the second, on Alpamysh in Tashkent (1956). The majority
of these works cited by Mirzaev were published in Tashkent. Because of the
abundance of materials published annually in Alma-Ata, Moscow and Leningrad,
it is likely that a comprehensive list would be much longer. Virtually all
confine themselves to general remarks about the dastan rather than engaging
in analysis. Many writers often draw upon one or two early commentaries and
merely repeat those works' main assertions. Indeed, some works are singled
out for large scale publication and mass distribution. Even the most widely
circulated monographs concerning the Alpamysh dastan do not treat in detail
one particular variant or edition in its entirety. Comparative studies, such
as those by Tura Mirzaev, V. M. Zhirmunskii, M. Ghabdullin, N. Smirnova and
T. Sydykov, usually group a number of variants into categories and discuss
the category rather than indivdual variants. These scholars write about
the "Kazakh Alpamysh" or the "Uzbek Alpamysh," lumping together all the
variants of each of these categories, themselves artificial, and determined
by place of collection rather than content (this point is elaborated
further below). They then make what are, for the most part, obvious
generalizations or point to superficial or minor discrepancies among the
variants such as different

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 3

words used in the same context or a missing line. Lacking are details of
collection and previous publication, analysis of historical context,
exploration of levels of meaning. Even citations of printed versions are
incomplete, inaccurate or contradictory.

In his Russian language work of 1960 on the dastan Alpamysh2, Zhirmunskii
offers only fragmentary citations of previous printings of Alpamysh,
including Divay's 1901 printing. In a footnote, Zhirmunskii cites Divay's
1901 printing of Alpamysh, noting its original publication
under the heading "Ethnographic materials" in the Sbornik, in
which Divay frequently published his findings during the 1890s and 1900s.
Zhirmunskii incorrectly identifies the 1901 edition of the
Sbornik as Vol. IX. He also notes only one Russian-language
publication in which the 1922 edition appeared.3 Only by piecing together
fragments from numerous Soviet sources is it possible to determine the
numbers of printings of this version by Divay4, the languages of publication
and the changes Divay himself made for the 1922 reprintings.

A later (1969) English language work (alternately translation and synopsis
of the 1960 monograph), repeats the claim that Divay's 1901
Alpamysh is a Karakalpak variant, of which a second edition was
printed in 1922.5 Various notes in this 1969 text are even more confusing
(sometimes misleading) than those of 1960. One note (p. 276) refers to the
printing in the Sbornik without citing the date of the specific
number containing Alpamysh. A later note (p. 292) cites only the reprint
from the Sbornik, published separately, and merely notes the
existence of a second edition in 1922 without any details. Ghabdullin and
Sydykov in their 1972 work, however, not only do not cite the two printings
cited by Zhirmunskii, they also omit other printings of the dastan including
a 1964 collection of the works of Divay in which Sydykov participated.6
In the matter of Alpamysh's "genealogy," the lack of precise tracig of
individual variants (described in Chapter One.7) leaves the door open to
deliberate obscuring. Neither the secondary sources (which themselves
lack discussions of origins) nor the manuscripts are readily available to
researchers, even those working inside the USSR. It is standard procedure
for Soviet libraries to restrict access to portions of collections,
especially to books and periodicals published before 1932. Restrictions
apply (although not always the same ones) to both Soviets and foreigners.
Only a handful of the 55 identified

4 H. B. Paksoy

printings of Alpamysh are accessible at all, even to Soviet
researchers, as indicated by notes and bibliographies in Soviet works.
Indeed, no single comprehensive bibliography of Alpamysh
printings exists in any Soviet or other work on that dastan of which this
writer is aware. As for the manuscripts themselves, the field records of
those individuals who collected Alpamysh directly from the
ozans are strictly confined to the restricted-access manuscript
archives of various branches of the Academies of Sciences. In this climate
of restriction and control, it is no wonder that those versions and
commentaries which are singled out for wide circulation should enjoy
exaggerated, indeed contrived, prominence. Penkovskii's translations and
Zhirmunskii's commentaries are cases in point. These two men have been
perhaps the greatest beneficiaries of this selective treatment. Penkovskii
effected the translations of Alpamysh that have been most
widely disseminated, including the printing cited during the "Trial of
Alpamysh" that was noted for the translator's "refinements" and
"improvements," and the 1958 "most complete" version. It has been his
translations that have been distributed outside Central Asian republics and
outside the USSR. As a result, his work has formed the foundation for
Russian-language and Western analyses of Alpamysh.

V. M. Zhirmunskii, long regarded as the doyen among Alpamysh scholars, has
achieved and held that distinction by use of a former colleague's work and
through the wide distribution of his own publications. The typology and
themes he has established for the study of the dastan are widely used by
both Soviet and Western scholars, and his arguments carry great weight. For
those reasons, it is necessary to review his treatment of the
Alpamysh dastan. Careful examination of Zhirmunskii's works
indicates that he, along with Penkovskii, has been perhaps the major
contributor to the campaign to subvert the dastan. His influence among
Western spcialists has meant widespread misunderstandings of Alpamysh and
the dastan genre. At the root of Zhirmunskii's assertions is the
presumption, which he states explicitly in all discussions of the dastan
cited here, that one variant of Alpamysh is "authoritative" and can serve as
a "yardstick" by which to measure all others -- that is Penkovskii's
translation of the variant by Fazil Yoldashoglu. In view of the documented
changes Penkovskii made in Fazil's versions, this foundation is immediately
suspect. Yet Zhirmunskii uses it to categorize "versions" and "variants" and
to tag "missing" parts. He provides surveys of reciters, with varying
degrees of information, as a means to classify individual versions by place
of collection rather than dialect or content.

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 5

On the distinction between "version" (versiia) and "variant" (variant),
Zhirmunskii himself does not tackle this issue head on but, by virtue of his
chapter titles, the reader may infer that each "version" of a dastan has or
may have several "variants." Precisely what delimits a "version" is left
unstated, and usage in the text is inconsistent.

Each chapter of Part One of Zhirmunskii's monograph is named for a "version"
of Alpamysh -- Kungrat, Oghuz, Kipchak and Altai. The Kungrat "version"
includes, according to the chapter subtitle, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Kazakh and
Tajik "redactions." However, the Kipchak chapter includes Bashkir, Kazan
Tatar and Kazakh "variants." At no time does Zhirmunskii explain the dual
classification of the Kazakh "variant." Zhirmunskii also refers to Uzbek,
Karakalpak, Kazakh and Tajik "variants" of Alpamysh, and to an "Uzbek
version" (p. 30), "Tajik version" (p. 33), "Karakalpak version" (p. 26, 35,
42) with its "variants" (p. 37) and a "Kazakh version" (pp. 26, 39). All
this is confusing, but the synopses themselves often provide
sufficient information for the reader to discern the content of any
particular redaction regardless of its classification.

Tura Mirzaev, clearly influenced by the imposition of such distinctions,
addresses the issue directly. He raises six points concerning the scope of
"version" as opposed to "variant" -- that of the former being decidedly
wider than that of the latter. His main point concerns the historical
differentiation of human groups. Mirzaev argues that the differential
development of a "people" (halk) leads it to evolve a "version" of a dastan
differentiated from that of other peoples. Thus, as the title of his work
implies, there is a single "Uzbek version" and he wrote about its
"variants."8

Zhirmunskii argues that there are several "variants" of Alpamysh including
Kazakh and Karakalpak. He classifies the Divay (1901) version as Karakalpak
because it was taken down from a Karakalpak bashi. He, therefore, calls
Divay's own abelling of the version as "Kirghiz" "imprecise": "In
Karakalpakia at the present time there are recorded five variants of
Alpamysh of which three have been published:

"1. In 1901 A. Divaev under the imprecise title 'Alpamis
[sic] Batir, Kirghiz poem' published in the original and in Russian
translation a manuscript 'recorded by a Karakalpak of the

6 H. B. Paksoy

Turtkulskii volost' of the Amu-Darya otdel, the improvisor
Dzhiyamurad Bekmuhamedov [transliteration from Russian] by profession a
bahshi.' "The manuscript contains only the first part of the legend."
This quotation brings together two components of Zhirmunskii's assertion --
the categorization of the Divay redaction and the issue of "missing part."
The Divay version, for example, he says is missing the second part.9

Collection Efforts

As noted, the most widely available printed version of Alpamysh was taken
down from the reciter Fazil Yoldashoglu in 1928 (Lev Penkovskii's Russian
translation is the form available rather than any printing of the original,
which is no longer available -- even in libraries). It was collected under
the directorship of Hadi Zarif after the earlier transcription by Gazi Alim
had been lost. The edition recorded from Fazil Yoldashoglu in 1928 contains
about 14,000 lines. The manuscript is No. 18 in the folklore archive of the
Uzbek Academy of Sciences.10

It was this redaction which was eventually prepared for publication by Hamid
Alimjan in 1939. This was the first publication of that version. Zhirmunskii
notes that the Fazil variant was published "with abridgements." It has
been translated into Russian with "refinements" at least twice by Lev
Penkovskii11, and has been reprinted in numerous editions, including the
1958 edition which has been declared "most complete" by Soviet sources.
Zhirmunskii cites the Alimjan 1939 edition as "first" and a 1958 edition as
"third," implying the existence of a second edition, but furnishing no
particulars.12 Mirzaev indicates that a second edition was published in
1957. All three were published in Tashkent.13

Zhirmunskii reports only briefly on redactions by four of Fazil's
contemporaries who lived in other areas of what became the Uzbek SSR: Pulkan
(abbreviated: P) (1874-1941) of the Samarkand oblast; Berdi-bahshi (BB) (no
dates given) of the Tashkent oblast14, Jurabaev (Jur) (dates not give)
of the Samarkand oblast and Buri Sadykv (Sad) of the Ferghana oblast.15 He
notes only differences from Fazil's variant. He does not state that his list
is exhaustive, however, and thereby implies that these variants are

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 7

extremely close to Fazil's except as noted. In the composite below, no such
assumption has been made and the portions translated from Fazil's variant
have been attributed only to him.

Nine variants were apparently collected in the Kazakh SSR or are printed in
what Zhirmunskii identifies as Kazakh dialect.16 The manuscripts are kept in
the Folklore Archive of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR.17 Of
the nine recorded versions, three have been published:

1. Kissa-i Alfamish (Hereafter: Kazan 1899). However, Zhirmunskii states
that the form "Alfamish" was, "by a fantasy of the editor" considered more
literary, and "proceeding from the placing, common in Turkic languages,
of the letter 'p' instead of 'f' in borrowed words." According to
Zhirmunskii this variant skips from the description of the "miraculous"
birth of the batir to what he calls the "second part" describing the
captivity and return. He further states that the "introduction" (meaning
the genealogy and birth of Alpamysh) and the "second part" were combined
with the "first part" (Divay's 1901 redaction) and published as a "whole"
variant in Sbornik obraztsov Kazakhskoi narodnoi literatury
(Kyzyl Orda, 1931). (Item 16 in Bibliography) It was reprinted later in
the book Batyrlar (Alma-Ata, 1939). (Item 19) This text, he
says, was widely disseminated. This is reaffirmed by Academician A. S. Orlov
in a 1945 publication.18 This was the same redaction which, as noted in
Chapter Two, Togan described as part of a larger effort on the part of its
publisher, Yusufbek Sheyhulislamoglu, to develop literature in the Kazakh
dialect and to combat Christian missionary activity.19

2. "Velikan Alpamysh" (VA) ("The Giant Alpamysh") recorded by Divay and
published in the journal Turkistanskaia Vedemost' in 1916 (Item
12 in Bibliography). Zhirmunskii gives no information on its collection.

3. Alpamys batyrdyng kissasy, "collected by an expedition of the Academy of
Sciences in 1958 from the akin Jelsu Jakpov who lived in the South-Kazakh
oblat. The text had reportedly been written down by Jakupov himself in 1948
from an old akin named Akkojaev, who had learned it in the late 19th century
from a famous akin named Maykot. According to Akkojaev, Maykot had taught
the dastan to him 'from some kind of manuscript or book.'" This variant of
Akkojaev-Maykot was published by the Kazakh Academy of Sciences in 1957
(Item 36) and translated into Russian.

8 H. B. Paksoy

Zhirmunskii gives the date of the Russian translation as 1953 -- five years
before the expedition by which this variant was collected. 20 (Item 35 in
Bibliography. Abbreviated AM for Akkojaev-Maykot.)

Zhirmunskii also notes a fourth redaction taken down, although never
published, by K. Nurgaliev, whom Zhirmunskii describes as a "student."
Nurgaliev recorded the text from a manuscript given him by Iskak Jusupov, of
the North-Kazakhstan oblast. The text of Jusupov was recorded in 1934
according to words of the reciter Rahat. Of this version, only the episodes
of the birth and selection the tulpar remain from the first journey of
Alpamysh. Barchin is absent and Alpamysh marries the Kalmak princess.
Zhirmunskii includes it in his synopsis and it is therefore mentioned in the
composite below (JR for Jusupov-Rahat). Three more printings are classified
by Zhirmunskii as "Karakalpak."21 He identifies five recorded "variants," of
which three were published -- 1901 Divay variant (Div. 1901), "a variant
recorded in 1934 by K. Aimbetov from a reciter Hojabergen Niyazov in the
Chimkent region of the Karakalpak ASSR [sic. Chimkent is in the Kazakh SSR,
but there is a Chimbai region in the Karakalpak ASSR, which is within Uzbek
SSR.] (Items 18, 25 in bibliography. Abbreviated: N)22, and the third
recorded by A. Karimov from the reciter Kiiaszhrau [sic - Khosrow?]
Khairatdinov in Nukus" (Abbreviated: Kh) (Item 37).23

The two unpublished variants were recorded 1956-57 from the reciters
Kurbanbai Tajibaev (1873-1958) and Esemurat Nurabullaev. Zhirmunskii lists
these, but gives no information on them.

After these considerations, one comes to the question of Zhirmunskii's own
expertise. The passage below illustrates that the bulk of the material on
which Zhirmunskii built his career and reputation was in fact written by
Hadi Zarif in their 1947 collaborative effort on the Uzbek heroic epic.

Hadi Zarif on the Alpamysh Dastan The 1947 work by Zhirmunskii and the Uzbek
Orientalis Hadi Zarif, Uzbekskii narodnyi geroiceskii epos,
(Tashkent, 1947), is, as noted, probably the first book-length work
dedicated to a study of dastans in Central Asia. The Introduction explains
the war-time conditions out of which the study grew, provides an indication
of contemporary attitudes to the Central Asian dastan and indicates the
division of labor of the collaborating scholars. It pays homage to the man
who inspired the study, Hamid Alimjan:

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 9

"This book was conceived and written in the difficult and the glorious days
of the Great Patriotic war, when the peoples of our Union carried on a
heroic battle against the fascist invaders, defending the freedom and honor
of our homeland, striving for a better future for all of mankind. In these
days our national epic poetry [nasha narodnaia epicheskaia poeziia (The use
of the singular here perhaps raises the question, 'which narod?')], those
great forms of the heroic past which are so rich, became especially near
and dear to us.

"The peoples [narody] of the Soviet Union are justly proud of their most
rich treasure house of the heroic epic, oral and written. The Russian
legends and the Lay of the Host of Igor, the Ukrainian 'dumy,' the Georgian
poem of Shota Rustaveli 'The Champion in the Tiger Skin,' the Armenian epic
David of Sasun, the Nart epic of the peoples of the North Caucasus, the
Kirghiz Manas, the Kazakh batir songs famous at present far beyond the
borders of their homeland, repeatedly published in the original and in fine
translation, have become the general cultural property of all the brotherly
peoples of our Union.

"In this new form of its own being, the heroic form of the national
[natsional'n(yi)] past, having been retained in folk [narodnoi; also
means 'national']24 monuments in the form of epic idealization, received
unprecedented social significance as a means of patriotic education,
worthy of our heroic epoch.

"The study of the epic creative work of the peoples of our Union is one of
the foremost and most relevant [aktual'n(yi)] problems of Soviet
historical science. The Soviet Union is the single country in the world
possessing inexhaustible sources of living and current, actual national
[narodnyi] epic works... That is why all kinds of special research in the
field of the national epic, built on new, formerly unknown material,
inevitably brings into our circle more general problems of the principles of
the comparativ study of epic literature.....

"...new material... underlines the wider

10 H. B. Paksoy

perspective of historical generalization -- the picture of the many
centuries of development of the epic work of the Uzbek people in a range of
details thus far necessarily preliminary and hypothetical. Such research
necessarily goes beyond the narrow national culture: Alpamysh,
historical and romantic dastans, the cycle of Koroglu, all in
various ways bring the Uzbek epic close to the creative works of other
peoples of our country, with whom the Uzbek people were closely tied for
centuries of their history....

"The book is the result of the joint work of two specialists. One, in the
course of many years, collected and studied the folklore of his own
people. The other came to the Uzbek epic from the general problems of
comparative study of epic works. According to this [expertise] the tasks of
each in this common work were delineated. The authors acknowledge the great
help from their comrades... In particular the authors want to note the
continual friendly cooperation of correspondent-members of the Academy of
Sciences of the USSR A. Iu. Iakubovskii and E. E. Bertels, of whom the
latter participated in the editorial examination of the book....

"The book on the Uzbek epic was first suggested to us by the Union of Soviet
Writers of Uzbekistan on the initiative of its leader, the Uzbek poet Hamid
Alimjan. One who knew and valued his own native folklore, a poet in his own
creative work, one who experienced its fruitful influence, Hamid Alimjan
wanted to spread the epic works of his own people [narod] widely and
comprehensibly to all the fraternal nations of our Union. In our friendly
cooperation and in our work, which he initiated, he saw one of the numerous
phenomena of that great Stalinist friendship of peoples of our Union, which
developed in the years of peaceful construction of Soviet socialist culture
and was steeled in the heroic battle against the fascist invaders and
carried us to victory over the evil enemies of progressive mankind.

"To the memor of Hamid Alimjan, poet and patriot, we dedcate this book.

"--The Authors."

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 11

This Introduction reflects the post-war political emphasis on the friendship
of peoples of the USSR discussed above in Chapter Two. Particularly
interesting is the statement that the heroic epics of the peoples of the
USSR have become the "general cultural property of all..." The implications
of such an assertion may be profound, especially in view of the right of
owners of dastans to alter them. The mention of Bertels editorial assistance
recalls the intimate link between the Oriental Institutes and the publishing
of Central Asian literature. It foreshadows Bertels' later role as head of
the sections of the Soviet East and Oriental Literature in the Oriental
Institute hierarchy. Those thanked in this Introduction are Russians -- the
"elder brother" even provides a guiding hand in the field of indigenous
literature and its interpretation. The Introduction also indicates that Hadi
Zarif was the principle author and wrote those portions of the book on
Central Asian dastans and their reciters. Zhirmunskii evidently authored the
portions which made comparisons with non-Central Asian literature.

The designation of Zhirmunskii in this Introduction as a student of epics is
not entirely accurate. According to a recent book on Zhirmunskii's career25,
Zhirmunskii was a specialist on comparative literature. His earlier works
focus on European literature and include a comparison of Byron and Pushkin
and several studies of German literature of the early 19th century.

Turning to the book itself, Hadi Zarif's first chapter presents an in-depth
discussion of ozans generally, then a brief discussion of some reciters of
Alpamysh. In a subsequent chapter, he compares variations of
the different versions of Alpamysh, lists some of the published
versions of the dastan and briefly discusses the Bashkurt and Altai
versions.26

As for the matter of Zhirmunskii's subsequent borrowing, examination of this
1947 work reveals Zarif's description of the Fazil variant of Alpamys is
nearly identical to the synopsis n Zhirmunskii's 1960 work. The latter
differs only rarely and then in minor rewording or by the addition,
between sentences or paragraphs, of some descriptive material or quotations
from the text. In the later English language work with Chadwick some
important sections by Zhirmunskii are merely translations of the 1960
monograph.27

Because the Fazil variant, as translated and amended by Penkovskii has been
elevated officially (as reflected by Zhirmunskii) to the pinnacle of
Alpamysh "variants," it is

12 H. B. Paksoy

essential to explore the differences between it and the many others. Perhaps
the most accurate way to approach such a comparison is by means of
constructing a single "composite" Alpamysh and examining the
range of variations.

COMPOSITE SYNOPSIS OF ALPAMYSH

The following composite of Alpamysh is based on twelve redactions taken down
from at least fourteen different reciters cited by Zhirmunskii (and those
noted above). Some redactions were taken down from two ozans or represent
one or two reciters' reworkings of variants they learned from an older
reciter. Twelve are known - Fazil Yoldashoglu, Muhamedkul Jamratoglu Pulkan,
Berdi Bahshi, Bekmurad Jurabaev, Buri Sadykov, Jiyamurat Muhammedbek,
Akkojaev, Maykot, Rahat, Niyazov, Khairatdinov. Two other printings are
Kissa-i Alfamis (Kazan 1899), collected by Yusuf bin Hoca
Sheyhulislam oglu (Yusufbek 1899) and "Velikan Alpamysh" published in 1916,
collected by Divay. The synopses provide useful, if sometimes incomplete,
information on more than a dozen Alpamysh variants which are not readily
accessible (or are completely inaccessible) inside or outside the USSR. Also
incorporated are the original printings Divay 1901, Yusufbek 1899. As noted,
the 1960 synopses of what Zhirmunskii calls the "Uzbek variants" differ
little from those of Zarif.28 End notes give pages of both volumes where
relevant. One uniform spelling has been followed. Variations, when they
occur, are noted in parentheses based on the Library of Congress standard
transliteration from Zhirmunskii's (or Zarif and Zhirmunskii) Russian text.
An exception is made only for the letters "j" and "h" which exist in the
original Turkic language and English, but not in Russian. Parentheses ()
within quotations were translated from the original Russian text. Brackets
[] indicate the Russian or Turkic original or explanatory remarks by the
present writer. In order to preserve the original flavor of the text,
translations are often more literal rather than literary.

There are several major events ofthis composite synopsis. It begins, as do
most individual variants with the birth of the alp to barren parents, his
betrothal to Barchin "in the cradle," the conflict between their fathers and
the departure of Barchin's father for the land of the Kalmaks. Alpamysh
subsequently goes after them to reclaim his bride. He undergoes various
trials and wins her hand. He returns to the Kalmak territory and becomes a
prisoner for seven years until he is rescued by a Kalmak princess. He
defeats the Kalmaks and (in several versions) returns home to

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 13

rescue his wife and family from a usurper.

Not all variants include all these episodes. Some omit either the first
journey or the second. Names may vary slightly as do the religious themes,
the degree of fighting and the detail of description.

Several variants of the dastan begin with a description of Alpamysh's family
and the prayers of either his parents or of his father and Baysari, who in
some variants is Baybora's brother, for children. Fazil's (F) variant, which
has the greatest number of episodes, begins as follows:

"In a remote times in the 16-generation tribe of the Kungrat in the region
of Baysun lived Dabanbii. Dabanbii had a son Alpinbii. Alpinbii had two sons
-- Baybora and Baysari. The older, Baybora was the 'shah' of the Kungrat;
the younger, Baysari was the 'bii' [Bey] and stood at the head of ten
thousand yurts of Baysun families.

"The brothers were knowledgeable and rich, but they had no children. In
order to make their petition, they set off on a pilgrimage to the tomb of
Shahimardan [the legendary grave of the Caliph Ali Shahimardan...in the
Ferghana oblast']. They travelled forty days and nights and at the
expiration of this time they heard a voice, addressing their wish:
'Baybora, God sent you a son and a daughter, not one by one, but immediately
at once he sent them. Baysari, to you God sent a child, not two, but a
daughter he sent. Return home now and when the children are born, gather the
people and give a toy [feast]. To the toy in the clothes of a kalendar
[wandering dervish] I myself will come and give each child a name.'"

In the Akkojaev-Maykot (AM) and Kazan 1899 variants, Baybora and Baysari
[Saribay in these variants] are heads of different tribes. Those praying for
offspring are Alpamysh's future parents:

"Baybora comes from the country Jidali-Baysun from the tribe of the Kungrat,
Sarybai is from the tribe Shekti. Kultay is the relative (third
cousin) of Baybora and Ultan is the illegitimate son of Kultay fro a slave
woman, 'that gathered kizyak [drie dung].' He is taken into the home

14 H. B. Paksoy

of the childless Baybora. Ultan grows up huge and uncouth... He does not
listen to his foster father and ridiculed his childlessness."

(In Kazan 1899 variant, Alpamysh, when still young, cuts off Ultan's ears
and pierces through his foot in retaliation for this ridicule.) Baybora and
his wife, whose name is Analyk, make a pilgrimage to a lake near the holy
mountain Karatau, and pray for offspring to "Shashty Aziza." (AM and Kazan
1899) Zhirmunskii translates his name as "hairy saint" and states that this
is the name for Baba Tuklas, "a respected Kazakh saint." The saint promises
the couple a son and daughter -- Alpamysh (here Alpamys) and Kaldyrgach
(here Karlygash). In Akkojaev-Maykot and Kazan 1899, "The pregnant Analyk
expresses the desire to eat meat of a leopard (kablan) -- this ancient
representation of 'sympathetic magic,' is widespread in the epics of the
Central Asian people (the same thing is told of the mother of Manas.)"29
At the same time Barchin [here Gulbarshyn] is born to the childless Sarybai
and betrothed immediately to Alpamysh. In order to give the flavor of this
earliest printing, a portion is translated below.30

1899 Alpamysh

"In the times past, when the religion was Islam
At a place called Jidali Baysun, in the land of the Kungrat
There was a Prince called Baybori, who was wealthy but was crying longingly
for progeny.
Baybori had an elder (relative) named Kultay.
Sinibay came from the same well-spring as Kultay.
Sinibay's woman bore a boy named Tortay, who was raised by Kultay.
One day, while he was walking among his herds,
Baybori looked around thinking:
If I had a son, he would have enjoyed all this;
riding the horses, driving the herds.
When I die, who will inherit all my wealth?
Longing for offspring, walking in the fields,
weeping daily, Baybori said:

'Heart filled with anxiety, bosom stricken with grief.
Absence of offspring is a perpetual worry in the land.
With my eyes open, I am about to leave this world.'
Baybori implored God: 'You did not take my soul, I continue to endure.
One child's absence will cause my possessions to be left to
my older brother.

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 15

Worry embraced my heart;
Almighty God created me, may he also be my refuge.
The absence of a child created hardships for me.
Pronouncements are made by the elders who have many sons.
I supplicate to you, Almighty, You are my Creator.
My bones grow weak, friends are distant.
Seeing eyes turn blind, falling in love with a baby,
my streaming tears are ridiculed by the distant mountain.
A man without child is without credit.'

Baybori said these touching words from his bones.
'Creator, Ruler, if you were not going to grant me
offspring, why did you (bother) to bring me to life?'
Baybori was weeping thus, asking for a child from God daily.
The bones of those who heard Baybori's pleading ached.
Tears drenched Baybori's face.
His words echoing, he wished to be dead.
At that time, on that laggard black day, a boy was born to Kultay.
Baybori spoke out his thoughts, he was tormented.
Grief chased away his being.
Meeting the baby, downtrodden, he placed him in his abode.
He named him Ultan.
Thereafter, Baybori regarded Ultan as his own.
Bodies dried-up, noses like hills.
Incisors dull, throat seemed that of Juhut
Where he sat, deep as six wingspans.
Ears like shields, noses like foul flour
Eyes like deep dungeons, traces of steps like ditches.
"Mouth, fireplace; mouth, knife-like.
Nostrils like holes in the ground; grounds trembled.
While such idiots existed, Baybori's tongue was tied.
Even if you are enraged, do not speak of it.
Baybori saying 'If Almighty was not going to grant me offspring,
He would not have created this one,'

'I would rather die than keep hearing about this newborn.'
He took crutches, wore clothes [appropriate for visiting]
and set out to pay homage to a Saint named
Babay Tukti, who was known for ages.
He repeated his wish for progeny during his visit.
The Saint gave his blessing for a son and a daughter,
admonishing to name the boy Alpamysh, the girl Kadirgach.
'When the boy reaches the age of ten, he will be impervious to arrows,
water will not drown him, swords will not cut hm. He will be a Khan.'

Then Baybori went back to his home, joyful.
His woman became heavy with child.
Nine months ten days later a boy was born. He was named Alpamysh.
Next, Karligach [sic] was born.

"At a place named Shekti, there was a Bay named Saribay,
who had a lone daughter named Glbarchin.
They (Baybori and Baysari) became kudas.

16 H. B. Paksoy

Alpamysh reached the age of ten,
Saribay, who did not have another child, said:
'My progeny was thus left stunted (in numbers).
If, for some reason, his (Alpamysh) fortunes change (leave this life)
my daughter would be left to Ultan in an instant.'
He (Saribay) therefore decided to leave for the land of
Khitay and carried out his thoughts.

"Then, Alpamysh became the eagle of the Kungrats at the age of ten.
Alpamysh, saying: 'Are you the one who is
denouncing my father?' cut Ultan's ear and flayed his soles.
Alpamysh, while playing, killed those whose necks were pliant.
One day Alpamysh was playing with the son of an old woman, the boy died.
The old woman said: 'Here there, instead of destroying
those children who cannot withstand you,
if you were any good, you would go to Khitay
and take your intended beautiful Gulbarchin
from your father-in-law Saribay.'

This was news that had not touched his (Alpamysh) ears.
When Alpamysh heard this, he massed troops, disregarding day or night,
without dismounting, covering distances with equal lengths,
swallowing his own blood instead of water,
breaking many men, in forty days secured and brought his woman back.

"However, while Alpamysh was after his woman,
Taysha carried off Alpamysh's herds.
When Alpamysh returned, Baybori Bay said:
'Of my blood, Alpamysh; disappear from my sight
You have done nothing useful for me, by becoming a man.
Taysha took away my herd, swiftly carried away my belongings.
"Do not stand before me, go away," he (Taysha) said [to me] with enmity.
Chase after the herd taken by Taysha.
Avenge this act of his.
If you cannot, be a slave and remain the last.'
Then, Alpamysh said this:
'I will pursue the herd taken by Taysha.
If Shahimardan gives me his help,
I will chase your herd back.
Do not cast a sorrowful glance, for I cannot act on your word.
I placed the saddle-blanket on the horse's back,
I lived the life of a Bey on Karatau.
After I leave, my dear father, you will suffer hardships from the
servants.
I placed the saddle-blanket on th horse's back.
After I leave, my dear father, you will feel guilty.
You have weak servants, my father, waiting behind you.
They are your enemies.'"

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 17

Descriptions of Alpamysh's origins and parents are sparse in the variants of
Niyazov (N), Khairatdinov (Kh) and Divay, 1901. Baybora and Baysari are not
brothers but equal beys. Zhirmunskii writes (See note 28):

"The genealogy of Alpamysh is absent. Baybora and Baysari live in the land
of Jidali-Baysun..., which is located near Bukhara (Kh) and belongs to the
Kungrat tribe. 'Bald Ultan' (Ultan-taz) -- is a shepherd, a slave, who
stands at the head of 90 families of slaves (N). The name of Alpamysh'
bride is Barchin or Gulbarchin. The children are born of childless parents
by the intercession of forty cihilten who later intervene on the alp's
behalf. (Div. 1901)."

The Jusupov/Rahat variant (JR) begins with the birth of the alp from barren
parents and the selecting of the batir horse. Divay's "Velikan Alpamys" (VA)
has none of these events. Both variants (JR and VA) omit Barchin and,
therefore, themes connected with her -- the "marriage journey" (to rescue
her) and the return of the husband theme. These two variants consist of the
captivity of the alp and his salvation by the Kalmak princess, whom he
marries.

In the variant of Pulkan (P), Baychobar and a black camel (who turns up only
at the end of the dastan) were born on the same day as Alpamysh, an
auspicious sign. Alpamysh was nursed on that camel's mother's milk, making
the batir and the young camel "milk-brothers."

In Fazil's variant, the births of the children were celebrated with a feast
to which came, a wandering dervish who had been called by the new fathers
earlier in a dream. The dervish named the son of Baybora, Hakim, his
daughter - Kaldyrgach (Swallow), and the daughter of Baysari - Barchin. He
foretold the glory of Hakim as a batir and conducted his betrothal to
Barchin. He touched the boy on the shoulder "and Hakim retained the mark on
his shoulder of the 'five fingers.'

" It is this touch (in the Fazil version it is the hand of Ali) that makes
Hakim (Alpamysh) invincible -- "in fire he is not burned, a sword cannot
wound him and arrows cannot penetrate."

In variants Akkojaev-Maykot and Kazan 1899 also, Alpamysh's invulnerability
is due to the saint's intervention. To the litany of his invulnerability is
added, "he will not be hurt by bullets [sic], they will slash, no sword will
cut him, he will be the enemy of the Kalmaks." Later that saint will become
the protector of Alpamysh. In Divay 1901, seven kalendar arrive to name the
children. They call Baybora's son Alpamysh and say they shall be his pirs.
The batir's

18 H. B. Paksoy

invulnerability, however, is not attributed to their influence.

Fazil's variant describes the education of the children, which is lacking in
other variants: "When the children reach the age of three, their fathers
send them to school [mekteb] to learn to read and write. When they reach the
age of seven and have already become literate, their parents bring them home
again; Hakim studies 'kingship and military affairs' and Barchin - 'tending
the sheep.'" Some variants include reports that "The batir youth crippled
his own playmates during their play." (AM, Kazan 1899)31 Fazil describes
Hakim's first batir feat, performed at age seven. He draws the old bow of
his grandfather Alpinbii, made from 14-batman copper: "the arrow flies like
lightning and topples the summit of Mount Askar. For this feat, Hakim...
receives the sobriquet Alpamysh: 'In the world there were... 90 batirs,
their leader was the batir Rustem, let there now also be a batir ('alp')
Alpamysh.'" The batir bow would reappear in later episodes of nearly all
variants.

Among the variants, there are three reasons for Baysari's departure from
Baysun. According to Fazil's variant, in which Baybora and Baysari are
brothers, the two quarrel over the payment of the zakat:

"Having learned from Alpamysh that Muslims according to the Koran are
obligated to pay the 'zakat,' Baybora demanded that his younger
brother pay the tax [sic] to him. Baysari refused to fulfill this demand,
saying it was unheard of among the Kungrat people and insulted his brother
with words and inflicted on him a cruel mutilation [sic]. After this he
decides with his ten thousand tribes [sic-tents] and all the cattle to
emigrate and go to the country of the Kalmaks, a six month journey from
Baysun, through the mountains of the Altai and to place himself
under the patronage of the Kalmak shah Taysha [here Taichakhan]."
It is interesting that this dispute is articulated in terms of a discrepancy
between religious obligation and Kungrat tradition. Furthermore, this
variant makes it plain that Baysari's departure splits the Kungrat and
reduces the collective wealth by removing Baysari's ten thousand tribes
(perhaps a symbolic figure) and their herds from the confederation.

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 19

In variants of Divay 1901, Niyazov and Khairatdinov, the argument between
the two fathers (who are not related) stems from the oglak tartis
competition. Baysari feels that Baybora wins unjustly. Another motivation
for Baysari's emigration is the fact that Alpamysh is the only son of
Baybora; in case of Alpamysh's death, Baysari fears, Barchin must fall to
his foster brother, the slave Ultan. (AM, Kazan 1899) The depiction of the
Kungrats' arrival hints at the historic conflict between the nomads and the
settled populations. Fazil notes (similar to Divay 1901): "Having arrived in
the country of the Kalmaks, the Kungrats stopped in the steppe Chilbir-chol
near lake Ayna-kol. Not having known property ownership in their homeland
[sic], they trampled the sewn land of their host, using it as pasture for
their cattle. The Kalmaks complained to their khan and [he], upon learning
of the conditions of the matter, accepted Baysari and his kinsmen under his
own patronage and gave them the Chilbir steppe as their yaylak and the lake
Ayna-kol to water their cattle."

In the variant of Berdi bahshi (BB), this land is given by Taysha as kalym
for Barchin. Taysha is not, according to Berdi bahshi represented in the
horse race for Barchin's hand.

In Fazil's variant:
"The Kalmak shah had 90 batir-giants who lived together in the caves in the
remote forest (in the region Tokaistan - the country of the Tugai).
'Every one of them carried armor weighing 90 batman, every one ate each day
90 sheep, every one received from the shah every month 90 gold tumans;'
'every one has 40 girl-servants.' Among these batirs the strongest were 7
brothers, the sons of the evil and crafty old woman ['mastan-kampir']
Surkhaiil... the youngest son was Karajan."

Barchin evokes the love of these batirs (F).

Surkhaiil-mastan wants Barchin to marry her youngest son Karajan, but does
not succeed: "The smartly dressed Karajan rides his horse in vain around the
velvety yurt of the beauty." Srkhaiil's second son, Kukamon (Kokemen) tres
to seize Barchin by force, but "the batir maiden wrestles with him,

20 H. B. Paksoy

squeezes the air out of him and throws him to the ground." Finally the
eldest son Kokaldash, in order to avoid discord among the brothers, suggests
to Baysari that he give his daughter either to one of them or to all
collectively as a "common wife." Baysari and Barchin refuse their
solicitation, but the Kalmak batirs threaten to seize Barchin forcibly if
she does not select one of them. "Barchin requests an interval of six months
and sends a messenger to the Kungrat, to her own promised suitor."

According to Divay 1901, Niyazov and Khairatdinov, both the old Kalmak shah
Taysha-khan and his head batir Karajan pay court to Barchin at the same
time. The two fight but there are no other batirs nor the old woman
character. An evil old woman does appear, however, in Alpamysh's second
journey to the Kalmak domains. This latter episode is found in Niyazov and
Khairatdinov, but not in Divay 1901. Kokemen-kaska appears as the faithful
slave (N) or the vezir (Div 1901) of the Kalmak shah. In these three
variants, Barchin promises to marry the winner of a 40-day baiga (horse
race). The other contests are absent. The wrestling is initiated later by
the shah as an additional test of the victor.

Two events precede Alpamysh's departure for the land of the Kalmaks -- the
acquisition of his Chobar and knowledge of Barchin and her plight. Alpamysh
receives his horse from the herder Kultay. In all variants Chobar is homely:
"His mane rises above his ears, he walks evenly, on all four feet, in step
(gait), on his tail he carries a whole armful of saksaul, and his forelock
and mane you do not see, on them sticks a whole patch of tumbleweed thorn."
(Div 1901)32

Alpamysh initially learns about his bride from an old women who had been
offended by him (N, Kh; in AM and Kazan 1899, she is the mother of a child
whom Alpamysh crippled or killed in play). Alpamysh elicits the truth from
the old woman "by squeezing her palm in which, by his request, she brings
hot wheat kernels for him to aste." This incident is absent in Diay 1901, in
which it is unclear how Alpamysh knows about Barchin. In Fazil's variant, as
in Akkojaev-Maykot and Kazan 1899 the acquisition of the horse is linked to
the journey to save Barchin:

"Learning about Barchin's situation, Alpamysh, prompted by his sister
Kaldyrgach and in spite of the advice of his father, decides to go to the

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 21

country of the Kalmaks. He goes for a horse to the old man Kultay - the
herder, slave and servant of Baybora. Warned by his master, Kultay
tries to refuse Alpamysh and even falls upon him with words and blows, but
the angered young batir overcomes the old herder, forces Kultay to give
him the ukruk [lasso?] to catch a horse. Three times into Alpamysh's lasso
falls the same homely Chobar colt. Alpamysh sees in this an indication
of 'fate' ['takdir'], although he doubts his own choice. But Baychobar, as
it turns out, is a real tulpar -- a winged batir horse; on him Alpamysh,
having taken his grandfather's batir bow, heads out on the long road to the
country of the Kalmaks." (F)

In the Akkojaev-Maykot variant, Alpamysh learns about Barchin's troubles
from a letter, which she had written him on a roadside rock (a motif, not
found in other versions, which Zhirmunskii states is very ancient).
The description of Alpamysh's journey is nearly the same in all variants
which involve the rescue of Barchin. Fazil, however, embellishes the journey
by including a magic dream:

"On the way Alpamysh finds lodging for the night in a tomb at the grave of a
saint. Here the batir in a magic dream sees Barchin who is coming to him
with a goblet of wine and greets him with a song. Alpamysh refuses her love
until he defeats his enemies, the oppressor-Kalmaks." On his arrival,
Fazil's Alpamysh finds shelter with the shepherd Kaikubat-Kal, who in this
variant tends the sheep of Baysari. Alpamysh inquires of him about his uncle
and Barchin.

According to Akkojaev-Maykot and Kazan 1899, the Kalmak khan is Karaman and
he is a contestant for Barchin's hand. On his arrival in the land of the
Kalmaks, Alpamysh defeats a huge Kalmak force and the shah himself (who is
killed) and reasserts his own right to his bride. The Akkojaev-Maykot
variant has no specific "suitor contest." Karajan and the other Kalmak
batirs are absent. In most variants, however, Karajan and Alpamysh meet a
Alpamysh nears the land of the Kalmaks. n Niyazov's account of the meeting
of Karajan and Alpamysh, the two speak in riddles. Alpamysh answers
Karajan's questions saying that when he (Alpamysh) "was eight years old,
his

22 H. B. Paksoy

old camel went away, and after him went the she-camel, and after them went a
[camel's] calf with copper [ornamented?] reins, and searched for them
everywhere."

In Fazil's variant Alpamysh refers allegorically to himself as a falcon
[lain] who is pursuing a wild duck [suksur], which had flown from the lake
Kok-kamysh; [he also calls himself] a he-camel [nar] searching for his
she-camel [maya]. Karajan answers in the same allegorical form: "The
duck which flew away from you is now settled at the lake Ayna-kl, 90 birds
of prey [gajir] surround her." And further: "Your she-camel is grazing on
the steppe Chilbir-Kol, the covering on her head has 1500 gold coins
[tilla]. I saw 90 batirs threaten her." In variants of Pulkan, Berdi bahsi,
Divay 1901, Akkojaev-Maykot and Niyazov, Karajan accepts Islam and befriends
his rival only after the two batirs engage in physical combat in which
Alpamysh defeats Karajan. This conflict is absent in Fazil's variant: "On
the heights of Murad-Tepe, the Kalmak batir Karajan waits for Alpamysh. He
had seen Alpamysh in a dream, felt his excellence and decided to conclude
with him a friendly union and become a Muslim."

All variants that include Karajan and Barchin recount how Karajan befriends
Alpamysh, takes him to his yurt and entertains him. He acts as messenger to
Barchin, but she does not believe Karajan's sincerity. His rejection of her
feigned seduction proves his friendship for Alpamysh. In Divay 1901, Barchin
makes a request of Karajan -- that he have her parents freed from a dungeon,
in which they had been confined by Taysha Khan.

It is at this point in Fazil's variant that Barchin informs Karajan that she
will give her hand to whichever suitor emerges victorious in four contests.
To win, a suitor's "horse must surpass all the other horses in the baiga, he
must draw the batir bow without breaking it, shoot (with a rifle [sic!]) a
tenga (a small silver coin) at a distance of 1000 paces, and defeat his
opponents in a wrestling atch [kurash]. 'The people will not be offended;
whoever wins will marry me.'"

In the variants of Pulkan and Berdi bahsi, there are three contests -- the
4-day baiga, wrestling, and shooting the bow. Only the first two are
described in detail. In Berdi bahsi's variant, the attempt to draw the bow
is not made by the suitors but by the bride herself, who breaks all 90
batirs' bows except that belonging to Alpamysh. Jurabaev retains only the
first two contests.

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 23

Fazil tells little of the second and third contests (drawing the bow and
shooting the coin with the rifle). The descriptions of the baiga and the
wrestling occupy a central place. Karajan, however, emerges as Alpamysh's
true friend and "matchmaker," as in Divay 1901. Karajan rides Baychobar in
the baiga, but in Fazil's variant, his main rival is his own brother
Kokaldash. The Kalmak batirs overpower Karajan, tie him up and drive nails
into Baychobar's hooves. Here the traitorous son is absent as is
the batir slumber. Karajan gets no supernatural help in freeing himself.
Baychobar wins, despite the nails in his hooves, by "spreading his
wings."

In the variants of both Niyazov and Divay 1901, the description of the race
is also important and the groom of Taysha-khan, (or of Kokaldash in Fazil's
variant) notices Baychobar's wings, confirming that this is a real tulpar
against whom it is impossible to compete. The groom in all three variants is
blinded for this observation by his angry master.

In the baiga of Niyazov, Khairatdinov and Divay 1901, the main competitor of
Karajan is his son Dust-Muhammed (Dosmambet - Kh, Kallimjan - N) and it is
he who informs the Kalmaks that his father is sleeping his seven-day batir
sleep (Div 1901, Kh). During the slumber, the Kalmaks bind Karajan and
Baychobar. In Divay 1901, Karajan gets supernatural help in escaping.
Finally, Karajan overtakes all his rivals, except his son, whom he kills in
order to win the race.

In these variants, the wrestling is not part of a predetermined set of
contests but is started by the Kalmak shah on the advice of his advisor, in
order not to give up Barchin to the "newcomer" batir, who has "only one
horse to his name." (N) The description of the wrestling of Alpamysh with
the khan's wrestlers Kaytpas and Kokjal in the variant of the reciter
Niyazov is compared by Zhirmunskii to the wrestling scene in the "Uzbek"
composite version. This scene ends with general bloodletting, which in te
other variants (Kh, Div 1901) is prooked by the treacherous shooting of
Alpamysh by Kokemen (with a rifle in Kh or arrow in Div 1901).

In Divay 1901, the khan has Kokemen killed for his treachery. Alpamysh and
Barchin return to their homeland, Baysari remains in the land of the
Kalmaks. The Divay 1901 variant of the dastan ends here.

24 H. B. Paksoy

In Fazil's rendering of the final wrestling match, Karajan defeats and kills
all the opponents of Alpamysh, even several of his own brothers. The only
one who remains at the end is Karajan's eldest brother -- Kokaldash, the
oldest and strongest of the Kalmak batirs. Fazil injects hyperbolic humor
into his description of the batir-giants: "One of them ate 90 camels in a
day, another girded on a sash of 50 arm-lengths, one wore
boots sewn from 90 large ox skins, and a fourth had a cap made of 60 cubits
of alaci (striped cotton cloth). 'Koshkulak is a healthy youth, his
mustache grew on all sides and among the hairs mice propagated, cats ran
after them and, chasing them, caught them only six months later.'"
In the end, it is Alpamysh who wrestles with Kokaldash:

"Alpamysh himself wrestles, but for a long time can not overcome him, until
Barchin with her own jibes, arouses the manliness and malice of her
betrothed, threatens to come herself out into this single combat." Thus
provoked, Alpamysh throws Kokaldash up into the sky "like a doll" and
kills him.

"After this," Fazil tells us:
"the whole people recognized Alpamysh as the victor. After celebrating the
marriage to Barchin, he with Karajan and the majority of the Kungrat return
to their homeland. On the way, Alpamysh and Karajan defeat an attack by a
Kalmak force which is sent after them by the Kalmak shah on the instigation
of the evil old woman Surkhaiil. In the country of the Kalmaks remain only
the family of Baysari who would still not be reconciled with his elder
brother."

In Pulkan's variant, Barchin forces Alpamysh to solve a riddle before
accepting him as her husband. This Zhirmunskii identifies as an "ancient"
motif of the competition between the suitor and the bride, the batir
maiden. The same could probably be said of Berdi bahsi's recounting of
Barchin's breaking all batirs' bows except that of Alpamysh. In variants
Kazan 1899 and Akkojaev-Maykot, the second journey of Alpamysh to the landof
the Kalmaks is provoked by the theft ofBaybora's cattle, in the absence of
Alpamysh, by the Kalmak shah (here Taishyk: in variant AM he is in no way
identified with the shah Karaman, who was killed during the first journey
[AM] by Alpamysh). The

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 25

angry Baybora sends his son after the herd, threatening him with a paternal
curse if he disobeys. Alpamysh sets out alone. Variants JR and VA begin with
this event. The Niyazov and Khairatdinov variants include the episodes
of Alpamysh's return to the land of the Kalmaks, but in their variants he is
motivated by the violence which Baysari suffers at the hand of Taysha-khan.
He sets out alone to help his father-in-law, but forgets to pray to God
and the holy cihilten. On the way, an old man appears to him in a dream and
foretells his punishment -- seven years' captivity in the land of the
Kalmaks.

Fazil recounts how, after the departure of Alpamysh:

"Taysha-khan, on the advice of the vindictive Surkhaiil, takes from Baysari
all his property and makes him a shepherd. News of this reaches the Kungrat
and Alpamysh again sets out for Kalmak lands at the head of forty jigit
[noble young men with batir-like qualities]. Among them is the husband of
Kaldyrgach, Bek-Temir, a bek of the Kungrat lineage Tartuvli (Alpamysh, was
a bek of the Kanjigali lineage)."

In this variant, Surkhaiil lays a trap: she leads the batirs to a meeting on
the mountain Murad-tepe with forty beauties who seduce the alps and make
them drunk. While the jigit are in their slumber "from drunkenness and
love," the forces of the Kalmak shah kill them all except Alpamysh and
burn their bodies in a fire. Alpamysh, sleeping a batir slumber, is
invulnerable. But the indomitable Surkhaiil, tells the Kalmaks to dig a deep
pit (zindan), tie the sleeping batir to the tail of his horse and drag him
into the pit. When Alpamysh awakes, he "bitterly weeps over his fate."
(F)

The news of the death of the other batirs reaches the Kungrat and Alpamysh,
too, is presumed dead. Ultan-taz (taz - 'baldheaded mangy'), here Baybora's
son from a "slave-captive of the 'Kizilbash'," seizes power among the
Kungrat. He makes Baybora and his baybiche (the senior wife, Alpamysh's
mother), his servants. Kaldyrgach e sends to the steppe, to lake Babir-kl,
to herd camels. He banishes Karajan to the mountains of the Altai,
forbidding him to come to Baysun. Barchin, who gave birth to a son Iadgar,
shortly after Alpamysh's departure, he does not harm: "'Wherever she gets
away to, she must remain mine all the same.' (F) (By custom the widow of the
elder brother passes to the younger,)" explains Zhirmunskii.

26 H. B. Paksoy

According to Kazan 1899, Akkojaev-Maykot, Jusupov-Rahat and VA, the Kalmak
shah had a frightening dream foreshadowing the destruction of his rule: he
is threatened by a rabid he-camel (bugra). The old woman character is an
ugly sorceress (mystan-kempir), who says she will save the shah from his
fate but demands in compensation the hand of the khan's daughter Karakoz-Aim
(lit: 'blackeyed beauty') for her own wretched and ill son. The frightened
shah agrees. Then follows, as in other variants, the seduction of Alpamysh
engineered by the sly old woman, in which besides the 40 girls, the shah's
daughter herself participates. The latter, falling in love with the batir,
secretly tries to warn him, but to no avail.

Again, the alp's enemies can neither burn him nor wound him with weapons.
The formula of invulnerability is repeated. The old woman has Alpamysh
thrown into a deep pit. (Also in N, Kh) A wild goose, that had been wounded
by a hunter, takes refuge in Alpamysh's dungeon and the batir cures him. The
goose then bears a message (in BB the goose is absent and the messenger is
an angel) to the Kungrat. The goose evades the hunter and succeeds in flying
to the Kungrat camp, landing at the lake Babir-kol where Kaldyrgach finds
the letter. At her request, Karajan travels to the country of the Kalmaks to
save Alpamysh.

In Khairatdinov's variant, the hunter Shakaman, heedless of the advice of
his old mother, shoots at the goose-messenger, but the arrow does not find
its mark and returns to hit the hunter himself. In Niyazov's as in
Fazil's variant, Shakaman is the name of the place. Karajan tries to rescue
Alpamysh at Kaldyrgach's request, but fails: in the variant by Niyazov,
Karajan hears Alpamysh ask: "Has not my friend Karajan come to me, (he)
who became my friend from fear before my sword?" In the variant of
Khairatdinov, Alpamysh does not at first recognize his friend, and inquires
about his loved ones, but forgets to asks about Karajan. Offended, Karajan
wants to go back, but in the end says fareell to Alpamysh and lowers a
branch to him. Half way up, Alpamysh decides that his savior will boast of
his feat, cuts the branch and again falls into the pit. Karajan's [here
Karabay] attempt to rescue Alpamysh is found also in variant VA. Here
Alpamysh refuses help because he fears that accepting it would be
"dishonorable."

In Fazil's variant, Alpamysh refuses aid at the last minute

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 27

because he does not wish to be obligated to Karajan for his salvation: "half
way up, he tears the silk wrap [arkan] which was thrown to him and remains
in the dungeon. Returning to his homeland, Karajan tells Kaldyrgach about
his misfortune and tells her to keep silent about his having found Alpamysh.
'Let them think he's dead.'" Also a trace of what Zhirmunskii calls an
"original" trait is another episode absent from Fazil's variant but included
by Jurabaev -- the return of Karajan, after his failed attempt to rescue
Alpamysh from the zindan, to become the vezir of the usurper Ultan. Alpamysh
kills Karajan with an arrow shot from his batir bow in a final scene.
Alpamysh is saved from captivity finally by the Kalmak shah's daughter who
falls in love with him.

In Fazil's variant, the princess' favorite kid falls into the pit and is
retrieved by the shepherd Kaikubat-kal. This shepherd was in love with his
royal mistress. Alpamysh promises to obtain for him the princess when he
gets out of the zindan and defeats her father. As kalym, Alpamysh
demands from the shepherd one sheep each day. Once he consumes Kaikubat's
whole flock, he tries to teach the shepherd to steal, but without
success.

Then Alpamysh makes a 'changavuy' (lip harmonica) from the bones of the
sheep he had eaten and sends Kaikubat to sell it at the bazaar. The daughter
of the Kalmak shah, hearing Kaikubat play, sends her own servant girls to
invite him to the palace. They force Kaikubat to take the princess to see
the imprisoned batir and she immediately falls in love with him. She orders
the digging of an underground passage from her own palace to the zindan and
begins every day to call on her beloved. Surkhaiil accidentally learns about
this and succeeds in informing Taysha-khan, who, on her advice, orders that
the zindan be filled up immediately with dirt. In order to be saved from
certain death, Alpamysh asks the princess to bring his horse. She takes
dried 'isryk' -- steppe grass-- to Baychobar. [in BB she takes Alamysh's
clothing which Zhirmunskii calls a "more primordial motif."33] Baychobar
then recalls his master and breaks out to freedom.

Baychobar lets his tail down into the pit. The tail miraculously lengthens
to 40 'kulach' (Kulach: arm-lengths) and thus he pulls out his master who
then defeats the Kalmak forces, kills the shah and the evil Surkhaiil. He
puts on the throne the shepherd Kaikubat to whom he gives the promised
princess. Kaikubat frees Baysari (his own former master) and with honors
returns to him his

28 H. B. Paksoy

confiscated property. In order that the Kalmaks would listen to their
Shah-shepherd, Alpamysh, according to an agreement with him, gives the
appearance that he himself is submitting to Kaikubat. After this Alpamysh
bids farewell and returns to his homeland.

The variations on this series of events are few. According to VA and
Akkojaev-Maykot, in which Barchin is absent, Alpamysh places Kaikubat [here
Keikuat] on the throne and gives him the first of the 40 maid-servants of
the princess. Alpamysh himself marries the Kalmak princess Karakoz. This
characteristic of these versions distinguishes them from others in which the
hero gives the princess to the shepherd.

The marriage of Alpamysh to Karakoz ends the variant VA. In variant
Jusupov-Rahat Alpamysh becomes lonely for his own homeland and decides to
return home. This is told in a short conclusion. Again there is no Barchin
and, therefore, no theme of the "returning husband." In variant
Akkojaev-Maykot the batir forsakes his second wife within a month after an
ominous dream urging him to hurry to his home. Karakoz saddles his horse
and, crying, follows after him. Three times Alpamysh returns to his beloved.
At the end, in the general celebration, Karakoz "is not forgotten" --
Alpamysh visits her twice a year.

In the variants of Niyazov and Khairatdinov the shepherd is named Ashim-kal
and the Kalmak princess, Arzaim. Alpamysh promises to make Ashim-kal the
shah and for that reason Ashim feeds Alpamysh the shah's flock. Then,
disguised as a dervish, the shepherd goes begging and finally steals in
order to feed the batir. The princess is in love with Alpamysh and, as
elsewhere, gets his horse and weapon from her father by a ruse. Alpamysh is
saved by the aid of a silk 'arkan' (in variant Kh it is tied to Baychobar's
tail). Vengeance is meted out to the Kalmaks and the shepherd Ashim-kal
becomes shah and marries the princess.

The return home, in those variants in which it is depicted in detail, is
always remarkably similar: "Returning from his seven-yar imprisonment,
Alpamysh crosses through the Alatau and for the first time from the mountain
Askar he again sees his native steppe, the summer camp of the Kungrat
tribe." (F)

Caravan leaders, whom Alpamysh meets on the way, tell him [Alpamysh] about
the changes that took place in Baysun after the news came of the alp's
supposed death. They told him of the new master, Ultan-bek. In anger,
Alpamysh kills

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 29

them.

According to Zhirmunskii's "Kazakh composite," Alpamysh returns to his
homeland in the dress of a divane [i.e. mendicant dervish]. The first person
he meets is his relative Tortay, now a servant to five slave-herders who
had been made beks. Alpamysh kills the bek-slaves (probably a variant of the
killing of the caravan merchants). Baychobar upon entering his native
pasture, "neighs, chews his bit. Hearing his neighing, an old grey mare, his
mother, comes running from a horse herd that was grazing in the reedy
brushwood, and with joyful neighs she circles around her foal."

Then, Alpamysh encounters a young slave-herder who, with tears in his eyes,
tells the stranger about the fate of Alpamysh and his family. Further on he
sees his sister Kaldyrgach, "barefoot and in rags, tending a herd of camels
on the shore of the lake. An old black camel, who had been laying down in
the pasture for 7 years, now suddenly raises himself up and runs straight to
his old master. He circles Alpamysh seven times. Kaldyrgach goes after the
camel and thinks she recognizes her brother. Alpamysh passes by
without identifying himself. (These episodes with Kaldyrgach and the camel
are not found in N or Kh.) In Zhirmunskii's Kazakh composite, it is Baybora
whom Alpamysh sees driving his herds and calling, " Arai, canim, arai!"
Finally, Alpamysh sees flocks of sheep which formerly belonged to Baybora.
There he meets the old Kultay, who still weeps over Alpamysh as "a beloved
child." In the variant Khairatdinov, Kultay together with Iadgar (Jediger
here) slaughter a sheep in order to feed the unknown guest. In the Kazakh
composite, two goats, once Alpamysh's favorite kids, recognize him.

Alpamysh identifies himself, but Kultay does not believe him until Alpamysh
shows him the familiar mark on his shoulder -- the sign of the 'five
fingers' of Shahimardan. Discovering the impending wedding of Barchin with
the usurper Ultan, Alpamysh changes clothes with Kultay in order to remain
unrecognized at the wedding feat: "I want to see with my own eyes who are my
friends and who my enemies." Kultay kills a white she-goat, and "The batir
cut out from the white goat skin for a beard for himself and from the hide
cut out a nose with scissors [sic]" and became unrecognizable."

30 H. B. Paksoy

In the Kazan 1899 variant, Alpamysh sends Kultay to warn Iadgar whom Ultan
keeps in chains and wants to use instead of the goat carcass to play oglak
tartis at the wedding! Fazil, Khairatdinov and Niyazov all mention this same
incident on the way to the wedding: "On the way Alpamysh encounters some
simple women who were hurrying to the wedding feast and took him for the
grey bearded old man Kultay. He eats their food and unnoticed places in
[their] container 'dry kizyak of a cow, manure pellets of a sheep and
goats.' The women, upon opening the dishes, curse the old joker." (F)

The description of the wedding feast in variants of Fazil and Sadykov begins
with oglak tartis in which Alpamysh, disguised as Kultay, wins.
Unrecognized, the batir sees the injuries and offenses caused by Ultan to
his relatives and friends. His old mother on the side of an irrigation ditch
cleans the entrails of sheep slaughtered for the wedding banquet. Baybora
carries wineskins with water. The seven year old Iadgar endures beatings by
Ultan and his servants.

"Barchin all the while refuses to acknowledge the oppressor Ultan as her
suitor, and with her own steadfastness upholds the taciturn resistance of
Alpamysh's family."

The scene with the cook (F, N, Kh) presents what Zhirmunskii labels one of
the very ancient elements. The disguised Alpamysh congratulates Ultan, who
then sends him off to the kitchen for food. The cook treats the poor man
crudely and gives him leftovers. The angered Alpamysh throws the cook into
the cauldron.

The competition of shooting the bow appears in all versions that include the
"return of Alpamysh" theme. The alp breaks the ordinary bow (he breaks seven
in N, 80 in Kh). He asks that the old bronze 14-batman bow of Alpamysh be
brought to him. Barchin orders that the bow be brought. It had long
remained at the lake Arpali, now overgrown with steppe grass. The minions of
Ultan did not have the strength to lift it and it is brought by the batir
boy Iadgar (Kh sas with the help of the cihilten). Apamysh, drawing it
without difficulty, shoots off the top of a distant plane tree.

In the evening, the disguised Alpamysh participates in singing improvised
olan (wedding verses). He sings with Ultan's mother. "The overbearing old
woman is a comic figure: she can not pronounce the sound 'r' and this
deficiency of her speech is especially funny in the wedding song with the
traditional love refrain: 'yar-yar!' she sang 'yay-yay!'" Then Alpamysh
"exchanges lyrical, heartfelt lines with the sad bride Barchin. From this he
is convinced

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 31

of her fidelity and alludes to his own arrival."

In the Kazakh composite, Alpamysh meets his old mother, now blind, carrying
a bundle of wood on her back. "She recognizes 'her only one,' her 'withered,
unlucky breast' again became filled with milk, '[her] deafened and long
blocked ears' again were opened, and 'wax poured out of them.'" Only after
the singing, the archery contest takes place and Ultan offers Kaldyrgach as
the prize to the winner.

Many of the wedding guests had already begun to guess that under the mask of
Kultay was concealed the returned master Alpamysh. Now the real Kultay
proclaims to all the people the return of the ruler. The batir together with
his friends destroy Ultan and his followers and put Ultan to death by
torture. At this time, Baysari returns from the land of the Kalmaks with his
family. "The poem ends with the unification of the dispersed tribes of the
Kungrat under the leadership of...Alpamysh." (F)

The Anatolian Variant: "The Tale of Bamsi Beyrek" "Bamsi Beyrek," despite
its title and some other differences including its localization in Asia
Minor, is clearly a version of the Alpamysh dastan.34 The variants of
Alpamysh and "Bamsi Beyrek" are quite similar both in the action of each and
in motifs. Both exhibit the desire of two equal princes for offspring, the
betrothing of their children "in the cradle," joyful festivities greeting
the newborn, falling into captivity, the fight for freedom, the false suitor
to the alp's betrothed -- at appropriate places incognito, bloody armed
combat to secure the final victory and finally regaining liberty, celebrated
with traditional feasts. Concerning the similar motifs, both contain
references to pre-Islamic as well as Islamic practices.

V. V. Bartold published, with a Russian translation, four episodes from
The Book of Dede Korkut, including the "Tale of Bamsi Beyrek,"
in the 1890s.35 Bartold in his first translation noted that "The Oghuz
version of the tale of Alpamysh i presented in the 'Story of Bamsi-Beyre,
Son of Kam-Bori,' appearing in the cycle of the Book of Dede
Korkut..." Bartold calls the "Bamsi Beyrek" story "Bamsi Beyrek, Son
of Kam Bori," although Beyrek's father's name is Bay Bori-Bek (similar to
the name of Alpamysh's father).

There is no Gam Khan in the story, although in the first sentence of
Bartold's translation, he notes that Gam Khan (a possible variation of Kam
Bori) is the father of

32 H. B. Paksoy

Bayindir, the Oghuz "khan of khans." Bartold called these "epics" (Russian:
bylina). He published a translation of the full work in 1922.36

Two manuscript versions of Dede Korkut survived from the 16th century -- a
Dresden manuscript made known to modern scholarship in 1815 and a manuscript
discovered in the Vatican in 1950. The only English translation of Dede
Korkut was made by Professor G. L. Lewis on the basis of these two
manuscripts. Lewis points out that:

"...[T]he substratum of the stories [of Dede Korkut] is the struggles of the
Oghuz in Central Asia in the eighth to eleventh centuries against their
Turkish cousins the Pecheneks and the Kipchaks... It is significant that the
'infidels' are given Turkish-sounding names: Kara Tuken, Boghajuk, and so
on....

"This substratum has been overlaid with more recent memories of campaigns in
the Ak-koyunlu period against the Georgians, the Abkhaz..., and the Greeks
of Trebizond. The Ak-koyunlu Sultans claimed descent from Bayindir Khan and
it is likely, on the face of it, that the Book of Dede
Korkut was composed under their patronage. The snag about this is
that in the Ak-koyunlu genealogy Bayindir's father is named as Gok ('Sky')
Khan, son of the eponymous Oghuz Khan, whereas in our book he is named as
Kam Ghan, a name otherwise unknown. In default of any better explanation, I
therefore incline to the belief that the book was composed before the
Ak-koyunlu rulers had decided who their ancestors were. It was in 1403 that
they ceased to be tribal chiefs and became Sultans, so we may assume that
their official genealogy was formulated round about that date."37

In Lewis' translation, "The Tale of Bamsi Beyrek" is about 12,000 words
long. Except for Fazil's 1928 manuscript (14,000 lines), all published
versions and many other variants of Alpamysh are shorter than "Beyrek."
Divay's 1901 variant, for example, is nearer to 9,000 words. The differences
are partly due to a number of humorous, but philosophical, pasages that
"Bamsi Beyrek" contains. These are of the type associated with another
Turkic personality, Nasreddin Hoca who probably predated the compilation of
The Book of Dede Korkut. The insertion of this humorous
material is not a common occurrence in dastans. By definition and tradition,
dastans are primarily created for very solemn purposes, and as a literary
genre reflect the

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 33

"self identity" of their composers.

"Bamsi Beyrek" is approximately one third verse, especially those portions
in which the individual characters are making emphatic statements. The Divay
variant is, after a prose introduction of about 500 words, almost wholly in
verse. Neither format is particularly unusual, however. Almost everything
Radloff reported from South Siberia is in verse as are the fruits of the
classical Chaghatay (Turki) period in Central Asia. On the other hand,
around the Caspian Sea -- the western edge of this cultural domain --
many tales are related in prose.

The basic plot of "Bamsi Beyrek" is as follows:
Bay Bore is desirous of a son and prays for one in front of the teeming
Oghuz. His friend and fellow prince Bay Bijan, hearing Bay Bore's wish,
prays for a daughter so that she may be betrothed to his friend's son in the
cradle. A son, nicknamed "Bamsa" is born to Bay Bore. Banu (or Lady) Chichek
is born to Bay Bijan. The offspring are betrothed in the cradle. The boy
grows up, performs "alply" deeds, for which Dede Korkut gives him the name
Bamsi Beyrek. Bamsi wishes to marry Lady Chichek and Dede Korkut is
commissioned to negotiate with her brother Crazy Karchar, on the issue of
kalym.

Crazy Karchar demands stallions, camels, rams, dogs without ears or tails
and huge fleas -- 1000 each. He is given the stallions, camels, rams, dogs
without ears or tails. Karchar demands the huge fleas. The teeming Oghuz are
puzzled and dismayed as to how to find and present the fleas. Finally, Dede
Korkut undertakes to solve the problem. The ensuing humorous exchange,
constitutes one of the primary differences between Divay's Alpamysh and
"Bamsi Beyrek:"
"He (Dede Korkut) took Crazy Karchar to a flea-infested sheep-fold, tore the
clothes off him and pushed him in. Then he said, 'Take what you want and
leave the rest,' and barred the door firmly. The fleas were starving and
they swarmed all over Crazy Karchar, who shouted and roared, 'Help Kede! For
the love of God, open the door and let me out!' 'Karchar my son,' said Dede
Korkut, 'why the uproar? There are the goods you ordered; I've brought them
for you. What's wrong? Why have you gone all stupid? Stop the chatter, take
the fat ones and leave the thin ones.' 'Dear Dede,' said Crazy Karchar,
'these are not the kind you can sort into ones you like and ones you

34 H. B. Paksoy

don't. For God's sake open the door and let me out!' 'Afterwards you'll
quarrel with us again,' said Dede Korkut, 'just you see.' Crazy Karchar
reared up to his full height and stamped and bellowed, 'Help, dear Dede!
Just you let me out of this door!' Dede opened the door and Crazy Karchar
came out, stark naked and swarming with fleas. Dede saw that he was at the
end of his tether and scared stiff; his body could not be seen for fleas,
and his face and eyes were invisible. He fell at Dede Korkut's feet and
said, 'Save me, for the love of God!' 'Go, my son,' said Dede Korkut, 'throw
yourself in the river.' It was a cold day, but as if his life depended on it
Crazy Karchar trotted to the river and plunged up to his neck in the icy
water. The fleas, as fleas will, streamed into the water and left him. 'Dear
Dede,' he said, 'may God not be pleased with them, neither the thin ones nor
the fat ones.' He put his clothes on, went home, and saw to the preparation
of a lavish wedding-feast."38

After the wedding, Bamsi Beyrek and 39 companions are abducted by the
infidel. The entire Oghuz Kulus mourns the loss.

For sixteen years nothing is heard from Beyrek and his 39 companions.
Finally a group of merchants happen to stop at the domain of the infidel
holding Beyrek and his companions captive. From the merchants, Beyrek learns
that Yaltajuk, son of Yalanji is preparing to marry his betrothed on false
pretenses. After securing the help of the infidel king's daughter, Beyrek
makes his escape and returns to his homeland.

Close to the kishlak (winter quarters), Beyrek meets people in succession
who are mourning his death and cursing Yaltajuk. In order better to identify
his friends and enemies among the Oghuz, Beyrek decides to assume the
identity of a minstrel. In his disguise as a poor wanderer, Beyrek joins the
festivities, participates in contests, particularly arrow shooting. Finally
he makes his way to the ladies' tent where his betrothed is surrounded by
the wome of the Oghuz. In this gathering, Beyrek exchanges verses with Lady
Chichek, who has no idea who this minstrel is, on specific events only
Beyrek and Lady Chicheck would know.

Finally it is understood that this crazy minstrel is the lost Beyrek. After
forgiving Yaltajuk for his crime, Beyrek sets out with the rest of the Oghuz
following him, to the

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 35

land of the infidel where his 39 companions are still in captivity. The
ensuing furious battle frees the men of the Oghuz, and marries the "infidel"
princess who helped him escape, as in several Alpamysh variants. Lady
Chichek is not mentioned in the final outcome.39 What follows is a standard
forty days and forty nights of festivities during which all eligible young
men and girls get married, blessed by Dede Korkut himself, who also named
this tale.

Comparisons of the "Variants" and
"Versions"

This section will make a cross-comparison and analysis of all those versions
of Alpamysh from which the composite synopsis was compiled and
of "Bamsi Beyrek." Then, the discussion will offer some conclusions
concerning the Alpamysh dastan in its various forms.

Zhirmunskii has grouped the various redactions of Alpamysh into
what he calls "national versions": Uzbek, Kazakh and Karakalpak. The
classifications are based on the place of collection or, sometimes, on the
perceived dialect of the text. This classification system will be one topic
of the following discussion.

The issue of the primacy of Fazil Yoldashoglu's version, not only among
"Uzbek variants" but over other "versions" will also be explored here. In
view of the wide variety which the many variants of the dastan encompass, it
is difficult to see by what criteria one version can clearly be established
as the "standard" against which to judge others. This consideration will end
with a discussion of the possible reasons for this elevation of the Fazil
variant.

Comparison by Structure and Content

The wide variation among the Alpamysh versions described in the above
synopsis is striking. Some include only the birth of Alpamysh, his early
feats, betrothal to and separation from Barchin, selection of his Chobar,
the first journey to the land of the Kalmaks and winning his bride. Pulkan's
"Uzbek" and Divay's 1901 variants encompass only this group of events. Among
the "Kazakh variants," these events are given little attention, including
variants of Akkojaev-Maykot and to an even lesser degree in Jusupov-Rahat
and Kissa-i Alfamysh (Kazan 1899), or are absent altogether as in Velikan
Alpamysh.

It is not only the Pulkan ("Uzbek") and Divay 1901 ("Karakalpak") variants
that omit the "Odyssey theme." Both

36 H. B. Paksoy

Velikan Alpamysh and Jusupov (both "Kazakh") variants are without Barchin,
and thus lack the "return of the husband" as well as Alpamysh's son Iadgar.
Beyrek does have a betrothed, but extant manuscripts do not indicate their
marriage, and Beyrek has no son.

Versions which have the second journey include Alpamysh's return to the land
of the Kalmaks, his imprisonment, subsequent escape and, usually, return
home. In all "Kazakh" variants, Alpamysh makes his second journey to the
Kalmaks' territory to retrieve Baybora's stolen cattle. In those two of the
five "Karakalpak variants" which include this journey (those of reciters
Niyazov and Khairatdinov) as well as in the "Uzbek variants," Alpamysh
returns to defend his father-in-law, Baysari (or Saribay) from the
Kalmaks.

The ending of the second journey also may vary. Usually, Alpamysh returns
home as Barchin is about to marry the usurper Ultan-taz, variously cousin,
half-brother and/or slave shepherd. This is the famed "Odyssey theme" about
which Zhirmunskii has written so much. Obviously, in those variants that
omit Barchin, this theme, too, is absent. Jusupov-Rahat (JR) ends with a
lonely Alpamysh returning home, apparently forsaking his Kalmak bride.

Akkojaev-Maykot sends Alpamysh home to Barchin, but ends< his narration
before the batir arrives. Velikan Alpamysh, like "Beyrek," ends with the
marriage of Alpamysh and his Kalmak (or "infidel") princess. Only Kissa-i
Alfamish, among the "Kazakh" variants, includes the return home, the
meeting with Kultay, Kaldyrgach, the wedding scene and revenge on the
usurper. Jurabaev ("Uzbek") includes the killing of Karajan (now Ultan's
vezir) in his finale, and Berdi Bahsi and he both omit oglak tartis.

In the "Bamsi Beyrek" story, the initial separation is a result of the
departure (kidnapping) of the batir rather than the bride and ends with the
return of Beyrek to the wedding of his lady to a usurper, whom he forgives.
The second journey is made in order to rescue the cmpanions taken prisoner
with Beyrek n the first part. Thus similar events are found but in reverse
order to the other Alpamysh versions.

Certainly, the Odyssey-like theme can be identified at once. As Lewis
states:
"Much ink has been spilled over the puzzle of how the Homeric tale found its
way into the Book of Dede Korkut... [One can] imagine that
Homer borrowed some themes which he found circulating

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 37

orally round western Asia Minor and which, still circulating after two
millennia, were borrowed once more, this time by the unknown Turkish
author of The Book of Dede Korkut in the east of the
country."40

The origins of this motif in Anatolia might explain, at least in part, the
absence of this theme from those variants of Alpamysh circulating on the
steppe, which is far from Asia Minor, and the frequency with which we find
it in the "Uzbek" variants.

In addition to these structural differences, variants also exhibit
significant divergences in presence or absence of major actors and motifs.
The absence of Barchin in some variants has been noted. In the variants in
which she is included, the degree to which she exhibits the traits of
the "batir maid" varies. In Fazil's variant, she is more "batir-like" than
Alpamysh, wrestling her suitors and pulling the nails out of Baychobar's
hooves with her teeth. Lady Chichek, too, behaves like a "batir maid" in
testing Beyrek's skills in riding and wrestling against her own. Divay's
Barchin is independent and spirited, but performs no such feats to rival
Alpamysh. Concerning the behavior of Barchin in the variant of
Akkojaev-Maykot, Zhirmunskii's synopsis is strangely silent. In the end,
however, Alpamysh forsakes his second (Kalmak princess) wife for Barchin.
Abul Gazi wrote in Secere-i Terakime about Barchin, the second of seven
"Batir Maidens" who was the daughter of Karmysh-Bay and the wife of
Mamysh-Bek (sometimes identified as Alpamysh). Barchin's tomb was believed
by the population of the Syr-Darya region (in the mid-17th century) to be
located near that river. It was called "Barchinin Kok Kashane." Abul Gazi
described it as having "a magnificent dome, decorated with tiles."41
Karajan does not appear in any "Kazakh variant" nor is there a corresponding
personage in "Beyrek." In all variants except that of Fazil, he is converted
to Islam after his combat with Alpamysh. In variants in which Karajan has
son (the "Karakalpak variants") the sn's name varies and Karajan kills him
in the baiga. But in the "Uzbek variants," there is no son and thus his
treachery towards his father and the competition between him and Karajan is
absent from the baiga. Karajan does not sleep his batir slumber in Fazil's
"Uzbek" variant nor in the "Karakalpak" variant by Niyazov, but is
overpowered by the other batirs who tie him and Baychobar. Both Divay 1901
and Khairatdinov ("Karakalpak") include the

38 H. B. Paksoy

batir slumber.

Zhirmunskii notes the coincidence of names between the Alpamysh variants and
"Bamsi Beyrek." The fathers of the batirs are Baybora/Baybori and
Baybura-bek. He remarks on the origins of the names of the alps: "The name
Alpamysh (Alpamys) according to information of Abul Gazi (Mamysh-bek) and
the Altai tale (Alyp-Manash) is explained as alp-Mamysh, that is as the
batir Mamysh; Bamsi, agreeing with the interpretation of Hadi Zarif42 may be
a phonetic distortion of the same name -- from alp + Mams(i)."43 The heroine
in "Bamsi Beyrek" is Banu Chichek, not Barchin, the name of Banu Chichek's
father is Baybijan-bek. These have no parallel in other versions. Also the
suitor-usurper in the Oghuz version is called Yaltajuk, a name which does
not appear in other versions. Furthermore, in the tale of "Bamsi Beyrek"
this usurper is not a slave or the brother of the alp, but
"friend-betrayer." He carries the false story of the alp's death to get the
hand of the betrothed. (This motif Zhirmunskii identifies with the Altai
Alyp-Manash.) Apparently there is also an Armenian variant of "Bamsi
Beyrek," recorded in Kayseri.44 According to Rossi, the tale was widespread
in the region of Bayburd and many Armenian families living in the village
Almyshka (of that region) before the First World War claimed descent from
Beyrek and an Armenian princess.45

Further comparisons of the variants of Alpamysh are hindered not only by the
lack of genealogy as mentioned above, but also because the unavailability of
many printings (not to mention original field records and manuscripts)
requires reliance on the composite synopses of Zhirmunskii. Although they
contain considerable and useful detail in most instances, as synopses they
reflect Zhirmunskii's choices concerning which portions to include or
exclude. Furthermore, these synopses are not totally reliable in the details
they do include. The few available printed variants make it possible to
trace some of these erroneous omssions or attributions. The following xample
compares Zhirmunskii's composite "Karakalpak" synopsis to Divay 1901.

Zhirmunskii states that in the Karakalpak variants, the
children of Baybora and Baysari are born due to the intervention of the
cihilten. However, Divay's 1901 variant actually states that the two men
agree to pray to saints. Only in naming the children do seven kalendars
appear. When they disappear, they are referred to as the 40

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 39

cihilten. In the wrestling scene, Zhirmunskii states that the bloodletting
is begun by vezir Kokemen's shooting Alpamysh with a rifle. In Divay's
variant, there are no rifles. Kkemen shoots Alpamysh with a bow and
arrow.

In comparing "Bamsi Beyrek" with Alpamysh, Zhirmunskii uses whichever
version of Alpamysh best illustrates his point even if that leads to
unclear, ambiguous or even misleading conclusions. For example, he notes
that "Bamsi Beyrek" exhibits ancient elements as does the Kungrat Alpamysh.
His following paragraphs comparing motifs of "Bamsi Beyrek" and Alpamysh
refer sometimes to one variant, sometimes to another. After a series of
examples drawn from Fazil's variant, he adds the "friend-usurper" role of
Yaltajuk in "Bamsi Beyrek," which has no counterpart in Fazil's variant. It
is, however, the role Karajan plays in Jurabaev's variant.46 At no time does
Zhirmunskii mention that he has switched referents. Zhirmunskii also spends
considerable time on the "romantic" and marriage motifs, which are certainly
secondary (if not tertiary) to the main purpose of the dastan. This is
perhaps self-serving because it allows him to pursue his analogy with the
Odyssey and, more serious, to undermine the primary purpose of the dastan --
to recall the liberation struggle.

These considerations lead to larger issue of Zhirmunskii's classification
system. First, as noted above, each variant is categorized by its place of
collection, rather than by content. The flaws with this method are obvious
from the above discussion -- "variants" within the same "version" may be
quite different from one another. They may, in fact, have more in common
with "variants" that are classified as being within another "version"
category. For example, Pulkan's "Uzbek" variant is much closer in scope to
Divay's 1901 (which Divay himself called "Kirghiz," meaning
present-day Kazakh, but which Zhirmunskii classifies as "Karakalpak") than
either one is to other "variants" of its "own" category. Classification may
beconvenient and useful, but not when the categories are artificial, when
they obscure relevant trends or run contrary to actual similarities which
suggest more useful groupings. It is also surprising that material
Zhirmunskii himself presents undermines his classification scheme by
revealing such differences among variants.

A second question posed at the outset of this section is what makes the
Fazil version, among the dozens recorded,

40 H. B. Paksoy

many of which were recorded before it, the "classic." Zhirmunskii notes at
the outset that Fazil's variant is distinguished by "remarkable completeness
and artistic cultivation," suggesting that it is more than the length
which makes this variant so noteworthy.47 However, the remainder of his
lengthy chapter using this "variant" as a basis of comparison reveals some
inconsistencies in Zhirmunskii's own treatment of the Fazil "variant."
Zhirmunskii begins his 1960 monographic treatment of Alpamysh
with the declaration that "The classic variant of the Uzbek Alpamysh was
recorded from Fazil Iuldashev [sic] (1873-1953)..."48 In contrast, he begins
the comparison of the variants by suggesting that there is little to
distinguish other "Uzbek variants" from Fazil's: "The variants of the Uzbek
Alpamysh do not concern the basic lines of subject: they are limited only to
separate, more particular, motifs."

In his detailed treatment of individual features of the "variants" he not
only emphasizes this theme of relatively minor differences, but in fact
points out incidents in the narrative, motifs and elaborations that exist in
other reciters' "variants" and do not exist in Fazil's. Since the reader has
already been assured that Fazil's is the "classic" version, the absence of
some significant events and details is puzzling. This is especially so in
view of the great length of this variant -- 14,000 lines in manuscript49 and
what Zhirmunskii and Hadi Zarif call the "richness of detail" of the Fazil
variant.

Zhirmunskii's own comments on other reciters' variants cast a shadow on the
"classic" status of Fazil's. By Zhirmunskii's own statements, other
"variants" contain elements that are more "ancient" (combat between Karajan
and Alpamysh before the conclusion of their friendship), "original"
(Karajan's becoming the vezir of the usurper Ultan), and "primordial"
(Tavka-Aim bringing Baychobar Alpamysh's clothing, rather than steppe
grass). Possibly there is another reason for he "classic" status of this
one variant.

Fazil's "variant" depicts Karajan's conversion to Islam because of a
persuasive dream, unlike other variants which include combat. In that
combat, Alpamysh is victorious, convincing Karajan not only of his rival's
"excellence" but also of the strength of his faith. Perhaps this seemingly
greater weight on the religious element qualifies Fazil's version as
"classic." According to Hadi Zarif, however, Fazil consistently refused to
recite variants of Alpamysh which included religious elements and
particularly rejected intervention by saints or the cihilten. Fazil argued
that

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 41

the need for such intervention detracted from the "alply" qualities of the
batir:
"What kind of hero is it that feels himself helpless before every difficulty
and in order to overcome them needs direct divine intervention?
With the help of saints, even a weak person can overcome any obstacle. Such
help from above only weakens interest in the hero."50

Indeed, comparing Fazil's variant with that of some other ozans, notably
Berdi bahsi, whose variant employed several such divine interventions, bears
this out. Fazil rejects the idea of saints' aid to the bound Karajan during
the race (reportedly saying that if Karajan is a real batir,
why should he need the saints' aid to free himself?)51 Fazil, like some
other ozans, includes the letter-bearing goose, who carries the news of
Alpamysh's captivity to Kaldyrgach, where Berdi Bahsi places an angel. Thus
Fazil's "variant" is not consistently religious, but neither does
it denigrate nor exclude religion.

Furthermore, because of certain aspects of Fazil's narrative, the characters
seem to act with almost undetectable motivations or with none at all. The
inspiring dream seems unconvincing as sufficient motivation for Karajan's
religious conversion, much less for his friendship and willingness to endure
all hardships to win for Alpamysh his betrothed. This is especially so in
view of Karajan's own earlier entry into the contest to win
Barchin for himself.

Alpamysh's own behavior -- in Fazil's variant as reported by Zhirmunskii --
is hardly deserving of the creation of a dastan or the bestowing of the
title batir. (This was noted by the dastan's 1952 critics, as described in
Chapter Two.) In Fazil's "variant" Alpamysh goes after Barchin only with
the urging of his sister. He does not defeat Karajan, nor does he
participate in any of the contests for Barchin's hand until Karajan has
eliminated all the competition. Then the batir steps in at the end to finish
off the exhausted Kokaldash, and this he does only fter Barchin threatens to
enter the fry herself. When imprisoned, he weeps on waking in the zindan. He
teaches Kaikubat to steal in order to feed him.52

Among these examples of "unalply" behavior, at least one incident, the
batir's weeping, is known to be uncharacteristic of Fazil's recitations.
According to Hadi Zarif, Fazil not only rejected religious motifs, he
especially disliked the variant of Alpamysh recited by

42 H. B. Paksoy

Pulkan precisely because in it the batir weeps.53 It is surprising therefore
to find this incident in a variant attributed to Fazil. In this regard, two
facts must be kept in mind: first, Zhirmunskii used Penkovskii's
translations rather than any original manuscript;54 and second, it has been
documented that Penkovskii deliberately altered Fazil's version since his
[Penkovskii] earliest translation. Thus, it is quite probable that
Penkovskii's changes are responsible for these elements in content that are
contrary to Fazil's own views. One wonders what other such "refinements"
there may have been.

Hadi Zarif, too, calls the Fazil variant a "classic" but not without
qualification. Here we encounter one of several significant passages by
Zarif that are never repeated in later works by Zhirmunskii. In the 1947
work, Zarif couches the declaration of Fazil's version's "classic" status in
highly cautious language that restricts and specifies the "classic"
qualities: "In richness of detail, fullness of epic content and high level
of artistic mastery -- this is the classic text of Alpamysh." But Zarif
follows this qualified statement by an even more ambiguous one:
"However, the epic breadth, the artistry of the 'trimmings' [otdelki] by
itself does not fulfill the criterion of antiquity of epic tradition: on
the contrary, in a series of cases, wide and full development of epic
subject, the abundance of episodes and working over of details conveys a
maturity [zrelost'] of this tradition, of the long road from short epic
songs to the epic of great scale. Obviously the redaction of Fazil
Yoldashev in many cases carries signs of such stylistic breadth."

In the final analysis, one characteristic of Fazil's variant does indeed set
it apart from all others -- the fact that it and it alone has been so often
translated (by Penkovskii) into Russian (1943, 1944, 1949 [twice]), and so
widely reprinted (one 1949 translation was reprinted 1958, 1973, 1982) and
distributed in largenumbers. This list of translations an reprintings is
probably not exhaustive. It was the Fazil variant that was declared the
definitive version (1958) in the wake of the "trial of Alpamysh" and
the extensive reorganizations of the Oriental Institutes of the mid-1950s.
This variant with the weak and indecisive batir is thus the most widely
circulated. Such is the model officially sanctioned for Central Asian youth
to follow and for all nationalities to see.

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 43

ALPAMYSH AND THE DASTAN GENRE IN
PERSPECTIVE

A dastan is a living and changing monument, recalled to duty by its owners
as needs demand. For that reason, it is more correct and more useful to see
each "version" of Alpamysh as a "freeze-frame" in an on-going, dynamic
process rather than as ossified and ancient "folklore" containing this or
lacking that "part." Each recitation or printing can be viewed as a "frame"
of the "original film." It is for us to see the larger, moving picture of
which each variant is one still photo.

In order to try to put together the larger picture, it is necessary to take
into account the "still photos," that is, the variants themselves, what we
know about their collection, and the larger pattern suggested by students of
the dastan genre such as Hadi Zarif and Zeki Velidi Togan. The incomplete
information about the general collection process and the lack of a complete
genealogy for any one variant remain a handicap. Any variant, version or
genealogy -- conveniently discovered or rediscovered in the future -- should
be viewed with all due caution. Keeping these conditions in mind, we can
proceed with the available information.

Only three variants of Alpamysh are known to have been collected and
published before the 1917 revolution. The earliest printed variants are
those of Yusufbek (1899 Kazan) and Divay (1901 Tashkent). The only other
distinct variant collected and published before the revolution, to my
knowledge, is Divay's Velikan Alpamys (1916). The information concerning the
collection circumstances of the 1901 Divay Alpamysh is the most detailed, as
noted above. Inan's theory of fragmentation from "mother dastans" would seem
to be in agreement with Hamid Alimjan's remark about the dastan being shared
by the Turks in Central Asia and with Hadi Zarif's statement that Alpamysh
dates from the time before the division of the Turkic tribes. In that case,
the present-day "variants" may be fragments of one ancient dastan. any may
be in the process (described in Chapter One) of "spinning off" from
liberation dastans (which remain intact) to lyrical songs and finally, to
masals.

The content of many extant variants reflect various stages of the "spinning
off" process. Most published variants include the so-called "part two,"
often in very elaborated form which sometimes utterly dwarfs or eliminates
"part one."

44 H. B. Paksoy

The original liberation theme is embodied in the "first part." The 1901
Divay variant concerns the struggles of an alp, Alpamysh, primarily for the
good of his kin and tribe. This becomes obvious if we consider that Baysari
took with him a large number of families and thereby split the tribe. Thus
Alpamysh's mission takes on the aspect of a unification, certainty of
offspring, and also a liberation struggle, of which his marriage to Barchin
is merely a symbol. Indeed, Alpamysh himself states (line 664-5) "When you
[Baychobar] win [the race for Barchin's hand], the future of the Kungrats
will be secure." Certainly this declaration takes the whole journey out of
the realm of the merely personal and makes it an attempt to ensure the
unified future of the tribe.

By comparison, other variants which emphasize "part two" place greater
weight on personal revenge or on romantic themes. Yusufbek's 1899 printing,
like Fazil's and many other post-revolutionary variants, highlight this
"second part" during which Alpamysh is saved from captivity by a princess
who loves him and whom, in some variants, he marries. In many of these
variants, the batir returns from imprisonment and exacts revenge on those
who mistreated his family during his long absence. Although most of these
variants may be said to uphold values of family loyalty, their emphasis on
personal as opposed to collective, tribal sufferings and needs can be seen
as part of the devolution of liberation dastans into romantic ones.

The 1899 printing, although its date of publication is the earlier, appears
to be much further along the "spin-off" process than the 1901 Divay. Both
seem to have been collected at approximately the same time, in the
mid-1890s, but appear to be "frames" of different scenes in the "motion
picture." Divay's 1901 variant is more immediately occupied with liberation
and the Yusufbek 1899 ("Kazakh") shares more with 1939 Fazil ("Uzbek") than
with 1901 Divay. >From this point of view, Hadi Zari's reference to the
"maturity" of th Fazil version of Alpamysh may be seen from another
perspective (if not as veiled criticism of a decadent narrational style). He
seems to be describing the "spin-off" process described in Chapter One.
Fazil's variant had already moved quite far from its original form as a
liberation song toward a lyrical dastan stage.

New Meanings of "Saving" dastans:

Those who first recorded the variants of Alpamysh were perhaps also trying
to preserve the dastan as the liberation song it was originally intended to
be. The

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 45

earliest level in the process of saving dastans concerns collecting
available fragments and fixing them onto paper in order to disseminate them
widely. Efforts to reach and to reassemble the original liberation song from
available variants represents the next higher level of "saving." The highest
level is the effort to place the dastan in historical context, to match how
the dastan related to the lives of the original composers and how it affects
the owners at the time of the study. (These levels are not to be confused
with the "waves" of rescuers discussed in Chapter One. The two do not
coincide, i.e. the "waves" do not represent a progress from one level to
another in this process.)

Divay, Yusufbek, Gazi Alim, Alimjan, Hadi Zarif, Tura Mirza were among the
men engaged in saving dastans at the first level -- collection,
transcription and large-scale dissemination. A number of these individuals
made use of existing manuscripts as a basis for their published versions.
Divay, for example, received his 1901 Alpamysh in the form of a bahshi's
manuscript. Other evidence of the use of manuscripts before the revolution
comes from statements by bahshis whose variants were collected in the Soviet
era. Some bahshis stated that they had learned Alpamysh from manuscripts or
from older ozans who were themselves making use of manuscripts.
Publication of manuscripts was a part of the first level of
saving and disseminating dastans. The multiple printings of both the 1899
and 1901 variants appear to have been made with the same goal in mind. Since
both the 1899 and 1901 printings (and their reprintings) had long been in
circulation, these may have been available to other reciters like Fazil.

Togan noted that Yusufbek, who operated solely within the first level, mixed
Islamic elements into the dastans he collected. Presumably this was true
also of his 1899 variant of Alpamysh. He added these religious motifs, which
were not part of the original liberation dastan, pparently to combat the
vigorous effots of Russian Orthodox missionaries based in Kazan. Other
"saviors," including Divay and Fazil, rejected such use of these religious
elements. Their own statements suggest their faith lay in the power of the
dastan's original message.

Gazi Alim and Togan personify the second level of saving dastans. In his
1923 introduction, Gazi Alim states that he had seen both the 1899 Yusufbek
and the 1901 Divay variants of the Alpamysh dastan. Both, writes Gazi Alim,
are incomplete and omit many incidents. He further criticizes

46 H. B. Paksoy

the reciter of the 1899 variant as an "untalented" individual who "ruined
the structure" of the dastan. Gazi Alim had intended to publish a "complete"
variant, accompanied by explanatory notes. He writes that he did not
have the time to accomplish that task.55

Gazi Alim's effort constitutes the collecting of fragments to form a single,
complete dastan. It is strikingly reminiscent of Togan's observation, cited
in Chapter One: "In the end, when a nation faces a monumental event, an
enlightened poet collects these fragmentary dastans to create the great
national dastan." It is probable that Togan and Gazi Alim spoke of this
matter. Gazi Alim's action seems to express Togan's thought. (They were in
Tashkent at the same time).

Because of their efforts and vision, Togan and Gazi Alim, as well as Alimjan
and Hadi Zarif, must be seen also as proponents and practitioners of the
third, highest level -- placing the dastans in their historical context and
articulating the meaning of the dastans for both their creators and
present-day owners. Like Togan and Gazi Alim, Alimjan and Hadi Zarif
emphasized the significance of dastans as part of their people's history.
Alimjan (in his 1939 Introduction quoted in Chapter One) notes that the
Alpamysh dastan is shared among various Turkic peoples and that it has been
part of their history for a millennium. Therefore it is no surprise that
"lack of knowledge of Alpamysh was considered a shame."

The Power of Alpamysh and Its Implications

That so many "saviors" chose the Alpamysh dastan as the object of their
efforts on all three levels suggests the power of that dastan's message and
its continuing relevance.

That power is further implied, and confirmed in Zhirmunskii and Zarifov, by
the use of the Alpamysh dastan as a propaganda tool during World War II. At
that time, a number of Alpamysh variants (at least ten) appeared in print.
In view of severe war-time shortages, the allocation of precious resources
to publish "folklore" -- i original dialects and Russian transltion, in
Moscow and Central Asian cities -- is indeed a reflection of its power to
mobilize its owners. Even then, it was not the 1901 Divay variant that was
the focus of attention and re-printing. Instead, Fazil's variant and others
which contained the "return of the husband" theme (no doubt striking a
sensitive war-time chord) were published and translated.56 The 1901 Divay
variant appears not to have been republished after Divay's death.

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 47

The dastan's denigration during Soviet post-war reconstruction suggests that
such stirring, martial "liberation songs" -- even in the lyrical form, such
as Fazil's -- were no longer required. Indeed, they might now be dangerous
-- with the removal of the German threat, the "alien" might be understood to
be the Russian "elder brother."

Finally, the current emphasis on "variants" may reflect the regional pride
of their editors and the manipulation of such feelings by official circles.
Despite the relatively late collection of the Uzbek versions of Alpamysh,
both the longest manuscript and the earliest monographic work on dastans
were produced in the Uzbek SSR by native Central Asians. Feelings of local
pride exude from Gazi Alim's statement that he wanted to collect Alpamysh
from "Uzbek" bahshis, after his criticism of the Yusufbek and Divay
versions. At the same time, the Kazakh authors have been tracing their
studies of Alpamysh to Divay's efforts. Divay's collections took place
before the printing of the 1899 variant and therefore represent earlier
scholarly efforts than those of the Uzbek Academy. Mirzaev, Gabdullin
and Sydykov also engage in this type of effort of establishing "their"
variants of Alpamysh -- Uzbek and Kazakh, respectively -- as the
earliest.

Officially proclaiming this "Uzbek variant" of Fazil as the "classic" may be
part of another policy by the official circles, attempting to incite not so
friendly competition among the Central Asian populations. The
differentiation of versions contravenes the original message and intent of
the dastan. Such differentiation implies separateness of peoples, as Mirzaev
argues, and each "nation" may be incited to strive for the supremacy -- or
primacy -- of "its own" version. On the other hand, Central Asians are
beginning to display signs indicating that they are becoming aware of this
perspective.

The appearance, in the 1970s and 1980s, of various works such as Singan
Kilic by Tolongon Kasimbekv (Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, 1971); "Baku 501" by Azize
Jaferzade (Azerbaijan, Nos. 7 and 8, 1982); "Altin Orda" by Ilyas
Esenberlin (Culduz, Alma-Ata, Nos. 7 and 8, 1982) and "Olmez Kayalar" by
Mamadali Mahmudov (Sark Yildizi, Tashkent, Nos. 9 and 10, 1982) attest to
the authors' awareness of unspoken policies. But they also demonstrate a
recognition of other issues. These literary works reflect knowledge of the
dastans and an understanding of their intent and power. All these works of
"historical fiction" employ the format and messages of a dastan, often
quoting

48 H. B. Paksoy

from older and more ancient dastans when not borrowing themes liberally.
57

Mahmudov's work and those of his contemporaries is not only part of the
"saving" process of dastans, individually or collectively. Rather, it
embodies the tradition and the message of the dastans themselves. This
contemporary "fiction" in fact constitutes new dastans in the proper
Central Asian tradition, written in a new guise.

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 49

NOTES TO CHAPTER FOUR

1. Mirzaev, Uzbek variantlari, 151-160.

2. V. M. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie ob Alpamyshe i bogatyrskaia
skazka, (Moscow: Izd. Vostochnaia literatura, 1960) Publication of
the Academy of Sciences of USSR the Gorkii Institute of World Literature and
the Oriental Institute.
3. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, 35 and note 13. "A. Divaev.
'Etnograficheskie materialy VII,' (in Sbornik... vol IX.
Taskent 1901 and separately); Second edition in the series
Kirgiz-Kazakhskii bogatyrskii epos, v. VI Tashkent 1922
(without translation)."
4. See Kazakhskaia narodnaia poeziia (Iz obraztsov,
sobrannykh i zapisannykh A. A. Divaevym) (Alma-Ata, 1964), 182. This
is a publication of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, M. Auezov
Institute of literature and art. Another version was collected from
Irkembek Akhenbek, a "Kazakh of the Chimkent uezd of the Nogaikurinsk
volost" and published in Russian under the title "Velikan Alpamysh" (The
Giant Alpamysh), in Turkestanskaia vedomost', 1916, No.
217-218.
5. Chadwick and Zhirmunskii, 292.
6. Kazakhskaia narodnaia poeziia cited in note 1, this
chapter.
7. Zhirmunskii and Zarifov, 69-70.
8. Uzbek variantlari, 29-30. On the other hand, as noted
in Chapter One, this is in contradiction to Zhirmunskii and Zarifov's
writings.
9. This view is presented in English in Nora K. Chadwick and Victor
Zhirmunsky, Oral Epics of Central Asia (Cambridge, 1969),
293.
10. Zhirmunskii, 15; repeated from Zhirmunskii and Zarifov, 68.
11. See Chapter One.
12. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, 15.
13. Mirzaev, Uzbek Variantlari, 10.
14. According to Mirzaev, 4, 108, the variant of Berdi Bahshi was recorded
in 1926 by Abdulla Alaviy.

50 H. B. Paksoy

15. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, On Fazil's variant 16-23, 23-24
on the bahsis, 24-30 on variations of other bahsis listed here; additional
information on the bahsis in Zhirmunskii and Zarifov, Chapter 1.
16. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, 40-45; shorter but similar comments
are found in Zhirmunskii and Zarifov, 66-67, 102. In the 1947 work the story
is not tortuously retold, but differences are simply pointed out.
17. Zhirmunskii notes, Skazanie, 40, note 18, that he is
indebted for information on this repository to corresponding member N. A.
Smirnova and 'nauchnyi sotrudnik' ('scientific assistant') T. Sydykov. The
wording of this statement suggests that Zhirmunskii did not actually see
these manuscripts.
18. A. S. Orlov, Kazakhskii geroicheskii epos, (Moscow: Academy
of Sciences, 1945) cited in Skazanie, 41, note 20.
19. Togan, Turkistan, 492, 493.
20. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, 40, note 21.
21. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, 35-39.
22. Published in Latin orthography as Alpamys in Moscow, 1937, with second
edition Tashkent 1941, cited in Zhirmunskii, 36.
23. Zhirmunskii, 36, does not give the date of collection, but cites the
publication of this work as Alpamys (Nukus, 1957).
24. Narod means a people, equivalent of halk; in Russian, narodnyi may mean
'folk' or 'national,' depending on context. Here it is contrasted to the
term 'natsional'nyi' and so it is rendered as 'folk.' However, elsewhere in
this passage, the term 'national' is more in keeping with the sense of the
passage.
25. USSR Academy of Sciences, Department of Literatures and Languages, V. M.
Zhirmunskii: sravnitel'noe literaturovedenie, vostok i zapad
(Leningrad, 1979). (Part of the series "V. M. Zhirmunskii; izbrannye
trudy.").
26. Zhirmunskii and Zarifov, 61-68.
27. See Chapter Two. This is true primarily of Section 2, Chapter 2 (The
chapters of Section 2, of which there are three, are by Zhirmunskii) on
"Epic Songs." The final chapter on "Singers of Epics," actually contains
comparatively little material on Cenral Asians ozans. What there is seems
heaily based on Hadi Zarif's work.
28. Zhirmunskii, 16-23; Zhirmunskii and Zarifov, 61-65.

ALPAMYSH: Chapter Four 51

29. Zhirmunskii's note 29 cites his own Vvedenie v izuchenie
Manas (Frunze, 1948), 20.
30. Translated from Text of Kazan 1899.
31. Zhirmunskii, "Literaturnye otnosheniia Vostoka i Zapada kak problema
sravnitel'nogo literaturovedeniia," (Literary relations of East and West as
a problem of comparative literature," in the Trudy iubileinoi nauchnoi
sessii (Works of the jubilee academic session) of the Leningrad State
University, Section of Folkloric Sciences (Leningrad, 1946).
32. This translation from Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, 36-37, also in Chapter
Two.
33. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, 29.
34. For a comparison of Alpamysh and Bamsi Beyrek, see H. B. Paksoy,
"Alpamis ve Bamsi Beyrek: Iki Ad, Bir Destan," Turk Dili, Sayi
403, Temmuz, 1985. This paper was rendered into Kazakh by Fadil Aliev and
published under the original author's signature, in its entirety (but
without footnotes), in the weekly Kazak Edebiyati, No. 41
(Alma-Ata, 10 October 1986).
35. These were published in Zapiski Vostochnogo otdeleniia Russkogo
arkheologicheskogo obshchestva, (ZVORAO) vols. VIII, XI, XII, XV,
1893-1903; they were apparently republished (presumably from these issues of
the ZVORAO) by the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences as a single work under the
title Dede Korkut, (Baku, 1950), cited in Zhirmunskii, 64, note
1.
36. Zhirmunskii, Skazanie, 63. More detail about Bartold's
publishing history of Dede Korkut is provided in
Zhirmunskii and A. N. Kononov's "From the Compilers" note in a 1962
republication of Bartold's translation of Dede Korkut: Kniga
moego Deda Korkuta (Moscow: Academy of Sciences of USSR,
1962).
37. Lewis, 18, 19.
38. Lewis, 68. Lewis, in his commentary, refers to the "tiresome question"
about Lady Chichek's whereabouts. He argues that since the manuscripts from
which he made his translation represent fragments, it is not possible to
determine this matter. Since Beyrek had been betrothed to her, however, it
must be assumed that he did marry her. 40. Lewis, 15-6.